


In A Flash, The World Begins...

by Gamer50018



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: AU, F/F, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23559454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamer50018/pseuds/Gamer50018
Summary: Two girls live in the shadows after a long captivity. Will these Valkyries ever be able to fly once more?
Relationships: Kohinata Miku/Tachibana Hibiki
Comments: 16
Kudos: 54





	1. Hidden Future, Hidden Flower

**Author's Note:**

> Good morning. Some of you may have already read this story, as my fellow user of Sufficient Velocity, ObssesedNuker, was kind enough to host this story on his account here whilst I got mine sorted out. As you can see, I now have said account, so I'm posting In A Flash here. Chapter 2 will be along shortly, and Chapter 3 will be posted here and on SV when complete. I hope you all enjoy.

At this moment, you're just a faceless, nameless part of the crowd, quietly paying for some food with money you stole from a bunch of crooks. This shady convenience store is the perfect place for you to buy food. The building looked like a cross between an American gas station and a wooden hut. The inside smelled strongly of house cleaner, but it was well-lit and had actual air conditioning, so it was _way_ better than the places you've been living in these past few months. The light murmur of people shuffling around and grabbing food off the shelves filled the air. But you don’t worry; no-one's gonna ask any questions you can't just brush off.  
  
As you finished handing over your haul, the cashier girl looked over the mass of glorious, delicious food and said "Well, this is quite a purchase!" She’s kinda plain looking, but she has this big, welcoming smile on her face. You wish you could be that carefree again. You’d totally try to be friends with her if you weren’t, well, on the run.  
  
Most of the food you’ve purchased is things you could just open and eat on short notice, plus some ingredients for rice meals when you and your sunshine get the chance to treat yourselves. The cashier notices this, but comes to the wrong conclusion. "Let me guess: surprise lunch appointment?" She guesses.  
  
Immediately, an unwelcome, tight feeling wells up inside of you. Here you are, speaking with someone you don’t trust. Someone you _can’t_ trust. But you squash it and give a 1000% fake smile. "Yup!" You say. "My friend and I were meeting up, so I decided to get some extra snacks. We're both big eaters, though I'm, uh, a lot worse than her, ehehe… " The food is really meant to last the two of you a week or two, not a single big meal, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.  
  
"Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate that you put in the effort!” The cashier said as she calculated the price. “And that's ¥1000, please."  
  
"Thank you!" You happily reply, relieved to not have to be part of this conversation anymore, and hand over your money. Well it's not _your_ money, but you're putting it to better use than the people you stole it from, so it’s as good as yours, right? "Well, that's everything! Goodbye!" You call over your shoulder. You then immediately duck into an alleyway. Yes! Freedom!  
  
With your really good hearing, you’re able to overhear the cashier’s musings. "What a nice young lady." She said, "The poor dear must be in a bad spot by the look of her… I swear, you see more of those unlucky children every day. The government really ought to do something." Then you hear another customer arrive, and she returns to her day.  
  
Maybe later on, she'll remember the girl with dirty clothes and a fake smile. She might even decide to try and help a little if she sees you again. She won't get the chance. You make a point of not going to the same shop more than once on the same shift. You’d be too predictable otherwise.  
  


* * *

  
You meander slowly through one of the back alleys. There are less people in these kinds of places, and less people means less potential danger. As you walk along at a slow pace, you stretch your arms above your head, sighing in relief at the tension flowing out of your body. Unfortunately, the dull, unending ache you've long accepted as a simple fact of life is interrupted by a sudden _spike_ of pain.  
  
You tense up at the uncomfortable feeling. " _Must have a worse than normal patch there…_ " you mutter internally. " _Ugh_ , _geez. I'm gonna have to ask her to help me look it over later. I can't risk stabbing myself if things go fruit-shaped_." You unconsciously touch your chest in a place that, covered by the ratty hoodie you're wearing, is marked by a strange scar. " _Dang it, Gungnir, could you stop screwing me over for once? Not feeling constant pain would be_ really _nice_."  
  
You shake your head, smiling sadly. " _Heh, no chance of that…"_ You turned your head and realised you'd zoned out again. " _Now where was I going there? Oh God, I got lost didn't I… yup, I’m lost_." You groan. " _She's gonna kill me… ugh, may as well look around while I'm here."_  
  
You carefully look around you for landmarks, traps in the making, and escape routes. There's useful stuff everywhere! Immediately, a tall building with a fancy point on top, a huge, really glitzy art piece, steel rods barely balanced on some flimsy platform, a stack of huge concrete blocks, hidden nooks and crannies that only a person who _lived_ on streets like these would pay any attention to. Yes, you _knew_ this street!  
  
And then, without warning, you hear some alarming noises. Someone was screaming insults and abuse at some poor guy. You stop midstep, look the way the chaos seemed to be in, and then look back to the alley you're walking down. What do you do?  
  
But when the shouting changes to the painfully familiar sounds of battle, you _move_.  
  
You arrive and take a look. It isn't much of a fight. The unlucky victim, a biker guy whose bleach-blonde hair was done up in an anime-style delinquent poofy hair-style thingy, stood against the wall. A dozen thug-looking guys were up against him. You turn the corner just in time to see the unlucky motorist take a nasty punch to the face. _Ouch_. Even though you’re pretty sure those bikers couldn’t hurt you, you knew from experience that getting punched in the face hurt, no matter how bad at punching the other guy was. Blonde guy goes down, but the other guys don’t stop. They keep kicking him again and again. It seemed as though the thugs weren’t just teaching him a lesson, they were enjoying it.  
  
An icy feeling seeps through your bones. This guy needed help, badly.  
  
…Well, it might as well be you.  
  
"Hey, you jerks!" You shout out. "You ever try picking on someone who can actually fight back, or are you just a bunch of grown-up schoolyard bullies?"  
  
This gets their attention, and they stop beating the other guy. "Wha-? Some little kid?" The biggest one - probably the leader - mutters to himself and turns around. He eyes you up and down, smiles confidently, and begins to walk towards you.  
  
"Alright girly, here’s the deal." The overly brawny thug said as he and his goons swagger towards you awkwardly. "I don't know what the hell got you so lost you ended up around our turf, but I'll give you one chance. Just head off to the main streets and forget you ever met us, and nobody'll touch a hair on your sweet little head. How's it sound, kid?"  
  
Are… are they trying to scare you? Really? Who did they think they were, the bad guys in a shonen anime? Did they see some tough talk and fighting on a TV show and think it’d be funny to try it out in real life against a handy punching bag? Granted, you’d have been nervous if you hadn't fought _real_ monsters in the past. But at the end of the day, these guys were medium-sized fish in a small pond. You’re a wolf in a homeless kid’s clothing. You're _Fenrir_.  
  
Yeah, a bunch of thugs are no match for you. You don't even consider singing. Even if it wasn't a great way to get yourself found and leave your body in worse shape, using Gungnir against these guys would be overkill. Heck, you're going to need to hold back as is. You don't get into a proper stance either. These guys suck so much, you feel it'd be an insult to the art you've come to love. Instead, you take a deep breath, loosen up a couple joints, and close your fists before you answer.  
  
"Yeah, I'm kinda gonna have to say no there. So, would you guys be willing to just leave quietly? ‘Cause I'd rather not make this a fight. You guys just leave him alone, walk off to wherever guys like you go, and let me wander on by. Nobody has to get hurt. Does that sound good?"  
  
You aren't really expecting this to work, but you're being honest here. You don't like fighting people.  
  
"'Nobody has to get hurt'?” The leader repeated. He looked at his companions and they all started laughing. Then he said “As if!! Alright boys, let's teach this little shrimp a lesson!" The thugs whoop and holler with glee as the charged at you, fists raised while the leader stands back with his arms crossed.  
  
You sigh. "Well. I warned you." You don't bother running towards them yourself, as wrong as it feels to just sit back and let an enemy come to you. You've already figured out how the next twenty seconds are gonna go by this point, so you don't need to put any effort into this.  
  
When the fastest of the crooks breaches your personal space, you don't even attempt to dodge his sloppy attempt at a haymaker. He doesn't notice your own fists moving until you've already buried one up into his ribs. He barely has time to go bug-eyed when you use your other hand to grab his shoulder and casually turn his momentum into a throw. The poor, tunnel-visioned idiot.  
  
The other goons almost grow a few brain cells, hesitating for just long enough at their buddy's defeat to get your hopes up. And then the testosterone-adrenaline mix coursing through their veins kicks in, and they keep charging you (Well, that's what Mentor said was why boys can be really dumb in a fight, you don't really know what those words mean). Honestly, how much does it take to make guys like these get the point? They aren't even coordinating their attacks enough to make the numbers advantage mean anything!  
  
The second guy doesn't just swing at you randomly, instead kicking out to knock your legs from under you. You’ll give him brownie points for creativity, at least. You shift in place slightly and twist your body at just the right angle for his leg to sail clear past you. A casual backhand is all it takes to send him flying. And his epic fail demonstrates why you prefer punches to kicks.  
  
The third guy, learning from the errors of his fellows, does not charge straight into you. Instead, he stalls, throwing a mistimed, poorly-angled and ill-executed uppercut towards you. If you were watching this instead of being part of it, your eye would be twitching from sheer annoyance at how bad these guys are. So you quickly step back, let his strike go completely off, and show him how you're _supposed_ to do an uppercut. “SEYH!” You shout. He’s knocked two feet into the air before he crash-lands with a thud.  
  
The fourth and fifth look alike. Brothers, maybe. You’re pleased to see that these two actually have some idea what they're doing. They both come at you in half-decent boxing stances, and each of them launch a flurry of jabs at you from different directions. Not bad.  
  
But your eyes long ago had to learn to track Noise and strike them down before they could even hit you. And later opponents would be even faster than that, _much_ faster. Compared to the inhuman speeds of those monsters, these mooks are unbearably slow. It's no real challenge to block their fists with your own. Their eyes widen in shock at the sight of your small frame matching them both blow for blow. You quickly take advantage of their surprise, lunging forward and punching number four in the sternum, then whirling to drive your other fist into number five's side. From his reaction, it looks like that was a kidney punch. “ _Ouch_.” You can't quite rid yourself of sympathy, getting hit there _hurts_.  
  
…Those two were the only actually good ones, weren't they? You groan internally. You guess it’s back to dealing with guys who sucked so bad you could beat ‘em in your sleep with both hands tied.  
  
The sixth guy is barely even worth mentioning. You sidestep his attempt at punching you and kick him so hard you knock him off his feet and send him flying. Normally, that would be a sign for you to start worrying about whether or not you're holding back enough, but his balance was so screwy it was ninety percent his fault.  
  
The seventh fares little better, his strike going so far off, you barely even have to tilt your head before you embed your fist in his stomach.  
  
As for number eight, he doesn't even get a chance to _try_ to hit you. You duck behind him and blindside him. An elbow jab to the back knocks him to the ground.  
  
Number nine attempts to kick you in the chin, but you don't even need to do more than dodge and watch as his own strike's momentum knocks him head over heels. “ _Wow_ ,” you muse. The sheer extent to which he messed up was impressive in itself. You don’t think you could’ve pulled off a kick that bad if you had tried.  
  
Number ten manages to impress you in a different way than his companion. In the instant after you dodge nine's epic failure of an attack when you're still off balance, he actually manages to hit you. Well, graze you with a poorly timed cross you _think_ was supposed to hit you square in the back rather than just tapping your shoulder, but it's better than his friends did. Too bad it doesn't save him from your fist landing in his collarbone.  
  
Number eleven swings so wide he wouldn't have hit a light pole, and it's about then you finally give in to the temptation to just punch one of these jerks in the face.  
  
*CRACK*  
  
You _flinch_ at that. It was only his nose, thank goodness, but that kind of sound brings up memories you wish you didn't have. Still, though it isn't exhaustion or pain that's causing your breathing to speed up, down he goes.  
  
You take a split second to regain control of your breathing, eyes closed as you run through the exercises Mentor taught you all that time ago, back when the thought of battle still scared you. You've long since gotten past that fear, but they still come in handy. Yet another thing you need to thank her for.  
  
If you ever meet again, that is.  
  
Finally, you straighten, eyes closed as you finish one last breath, and speak. "Okay. I think we've figured out now that you guys fighting me doesn't end well for you. So, let's start over, part on good terms, and all th-"  
  
*SCHINCRACK*  
  
Your eyes open in surprise at the sudden noise, and you see the thug boss standing right in front of you, his face a mask of confusion. Confused yourself, you look down, frowning as you wonder what happened-  
  
And see the switchblade pushed against where your neck meets your chest, its tip cracked from where it met your really tough skin.  
  
"Did you just try to _stab me_!?" You say somewhere between surprise and anger. The thug stared at the knife he had broken against your skin, a stupid look on his face. But you’re way too angry to care. An icy feeling bursts from your bones, one which clashes painfully with the roaring fire that erupts in your heart. You feel an itching, crawling sensation in your mouth. Suddenly, all you can think about is how furious you are that this… this miserable excuse of a human being _dared_ to try to hurt you.  
  
"Y-you freak!" The thug yells, stumbling backwards in fear as you glare at him. "Wha… what _are_ you!?"  
  
" _Someone you shouldn't have messed with_." You growl. Though he’s clearly scared, he doesn’t try to run. So you grab him by the throat with a grasp strong enough to choke an adult man in minutes.  
  
“Go. Away.” You growl at him, snarling to show off your wolf-like teeth. Then you push him to the ground. He lands on his butt, looking about as terrified as any child would confronting a wild animal.  
  
But then he grins in a half-hearted way. “Fuck you, freak! I don’t care what you are, I ain’t gonna lose to some girl!” All around him, the thugs you thought had learned their lesson got up. Though you’ve given them plenty of reason to be afraid of you, their pride won’t let them back down.  
  
You must’ve used too little strength then. Boys they may be, they had about the same body type as adult, muscular men, meaning it’d take more than human strength for a girl your size to take them out. Well, at least they’re coming at you all at once, so your fists taught them _something_. Still, these guys are regular humans. They didn't even have the abilities some humans have that let them fight beings that could only be called monsters without something like the power in your heart. Best not to hit them directly. That wall, you decide, is in need of demolition anyway.  
  
So you grab the boss and throw him towards his henchmen, halting their charge towards you. While they are distracted by the new obstacle in their path, you take a deep breath, clench your fists, and focus. The image of a silvery crystal appears in your mind. " _Alright, Gungnir, make yourself useful for once…_!" And you feel it, a rush of power that flows down your arm as you finally give a _real punch._  
  
You don’t know what the actual power of your punches was when untransformed; it’d been months since you last had it tested, even if you couldn't put an exact figure on it, and you were getting stronger all the time. Still, last you checked, your serious punches were strong enough to destroy concrete barriers and turn giant boulders into showers of pebbles. In one of your sillier moments, you gave this attack the name _Punchsplosion_.  
  
Nobody ever let you live that down. Especially not Bask.  
  
Very suddenly, the wall next to you is no longer part of this world. You slowly pull back your outstretched arm, a part of you you hate savouring the horror on the faces of the fools who thought they could _fight_ you as they realise what that fist would do to _them_. You grin wide, letting them get a good look at your positively wolf-like smile. "Any of you guys up for round two~?" You say in a sing-songy voice.  
  
They run. You don't blame them. You scare yourself too sometimes.  
  
Sighing in relief, you opened your fist, glad to feel your teeth go back to normal. Losing it in the middle of a fight isn't _as_ bad when you aren’t transformed, but it isn't exactly _good_ either. Also you don't like how you keep biting into your lip. Absently, you looked at the ground by your feet and spotted the switchblade the leader had dropped. “Oh, free knife get~!” You say excitedly. You quickly snatch it off the ground. You’re no expert with knives, but it looks shiny enough to be of good quality, even with the bit of damage where that jerk tried and failed to stab you with it. It might be good for chopping vegetables! You could picture all the amazing food you and your sunshine could make with it.  
  
“E-excuse me!” A voice behind you says. Oh, right, the victim! You quickly stuff the knife into your pants pocket and turn around. He was getting up, but he was avoiding looking at you directly. Wait, why was that…  
  
A sinking feeling settled in your stomach. You looked down and saw the results of your Punchsplosion. Your clothes, not built to withstand the force of your attacks, had been shredded. While not entirely destroyed, the hoodie and undershirt’s sleeves were just gone, and parts of your skin and underwear were now exposed for the world to see.  
  
“KYAAAAAAAAAH!” And with that, you jump high enough to reach the roof of the smallest building before you start roof-hopping. Apparently, however many years of captivity it had been still hadn’t gotten rid of the mortifying feeling you felt when _some strange guy who wasn’t your dad saw your underwear!_ How do you handle that!?  
  
After a half-minute of blind panic, you jumped down from a building and started panting. The new alleyway is in the back of some kind of shop. Looking around, you see that this alleyway is suckier than the one you fought the thugs in: tighter spaces, smellier, more garbage, etc.  
  
In the garbage, you spotted an old hoodie on top of the dumpster. Yes! You tear off your ruined hoodie, the latest sacrifice to your fists, and put on your new one. It smells musty and has some dark smudges on it, but it fits like a glove! “ _Free hoodie get~_!”  
  
But then you realized something: you forgot your groceries. Immediately, the elation you felt came crashing down. All that trouble, and because you were a good samaritan, you lost the thing you’d come into town for.  
  
You crouch on the ground into a ball and put your hands on your head. “I’m cursed,” you mutter.  
  


* * *

  
You're a little distracted as you walk back to your hideout. You lost control for a moment there. Not badly, not like those moments that don't let you sleep, when darkness overwhelms you and the world is nothing but rage and agony until your sunshine drags you out of it. But if you had transformed…  
  
It was far, far too close. You shudder inwardly. You needed to talk to her. Not about this, you'll be happy if you never think about what just happened again for what little remains of your life. You just needed to remind yourself that there's someone who doesn't think you're nothing but the all-destroying wolf of the apocalypse _they_ named you for. To remind you that you’re still Tachibana Hibiki.  
  
God knows, you can't do it yourself sometimes.  
  
The dull burning in your chest flares a bit, and you wince. It doesn't even compare to how much singing hurts these days, but trying to abuse Fusion craziness and tap into Gungnir as a human still isn't a painless experience. Still, being able to throw a punch with that much extra power is without doubt one of the most useful tricks you've got.  
  
You sigh, suddenly just feeling exhausted after this stupid, awful day. " _Stupid Relic… can't be satisfied with slowly killing me, no, you have to warp my body into some kind of freak show and then start changing me into some terrifying monster whenever I get mad… and now I've failed her,_ again, _because I'm too much of a goody two shoes to leave well enough alone_." You lean against the wall for a second, clenching your fist as tightly as you can without really noticing. " _I'm… such a total failure_."  
  
You take a deep breath, and keep walking. You were so lost in thought, you forget to look and see if anyone is around you until you’re almost to your destination. Eventually, you reach the very edge of town, after a mess of probably-condemned buildings thins out.  
  
Immediately, you come across the traps. Snares hooked on the sides of buildings and posts, holes with blunt sticks that point inwards so you get stuck in them, a set of hinged jaws kinda like a wolf trap except without the spiky bits, half a dozen different things all intended to get knocked over very, very loudly, and of course, the old favourite: a large tree branch designed to swing at just the right angle to smack a guy in the nuts. All of it put together from scrap metal, frayed bits of rope and string, old pieces of wood, fragmented plastic and aging rolls of duct tape. Most people, even trained professionals, would find it almost impossible to get through here without triggering _something_ from the sheer number of traps alone.  
  
You sidestep them all as naturally as you breath, still lost in thought. And why wouldn't you find it so easy? These were left by your sunshine after all, and you know her as well as you know the feeling of the ground under your feet. Of _course_ you know where to walk and where not to.  
  
Then, finally, you reach your current hideout. It's nothing much: just an abandoned five room building of some kind that you've been sleeping in and putting your stuff. Neither you or your sunshine spend much time here. It's really more just a place to sleep for a while before you move on, but she was planning to stay around and make sure nothing was about to collapse at a bad time and crush your things. You don't care about most of the stuff here, but if the contents of a certain collection of unmarked plastic bottles got squished, you'd have to give up on most of your bucket list.  
  
You can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach as you approach. And not just because you screwed up. Even though you _know_ she can handle herself, hold her own in fights she shouldn't stand a chance in… you still worry, leaving her alone. You don't let yourself think about what she'll do when you aren't around to watch her back anymore.  
  
And then, as you walk in the door with the kind of quiet people only pick up when they need it to survive and then can't turn it off, you see her. A single shock of green hair, a little hard to see from the dirt, attached to some clothes only somewhat less falling apart than yours were before you punched a wall. It looks like she only just got back herself. She probably went looking for any useful stuff, knowing her. You'd do the same, though mostly because you can't sit still to save your own life. You stand there for a second, just watching as the person who means more to you than anything in the world stretches, yawning a little. Guess she had a long day too. She walks over to the counter, which is probably the cleanest place in this dumpy building. You admire how efficiently she moves, the way she exerts so little energy to glide from place to place in spite of walking on two feet. You think it started from how she fights. She moves the same way when she's kicking someone's ass as she does for this short walk as goes to check through the random stuff on the counter.  
  
Then, the odd moment passes, and you smile for real as you speak up. "Miku, I'm home!"  
  
She almost panics at the sudden voice, you can see it from how she whips around suddenly instead of the smooth, precise movements you're used to, and for a moment, you wonder if you just hurt her somehow. But then she recognises you, and her joyful look makes you forget about your sucky day for just a moment. "Hibiki! You're home!" And with that, she rushes towards you. Normally you'd be the one doing that, but today you just smile and let her. Because, as you remember as she gives you a taste of your own medicine for tacklehugging people, well… It's like you've always said:  
  
Kohinata Miku is your sunshine, the one who let you remember when you thought you'd forgotten forever. The warmest place in the whole world is by her side, and wherever she is is the home you'll always return to, no matter what.  
  
"Hi, Miku." You say softly, as you finally let go of each other for a second. You take the opportunity to start to shrug off your hoodie- you don't need the extra layers right now. "How'd your day go? Anything about to fall and squish us?"  
  
She snorts, eyes closed as she leans back and waves her hand. For an instant, the movement lets you see a strange red crystal that the shirt she's wearing doesn't quite cover, right below her collarbone. Only a careful observer would notice that it's simply embedded in her body. "Ah, nothing really. One building maybe, but that's almost a block away, so nothing to worry about." She opens her eyes, and smiles at you- only for her face to change to one of panic. "Anyway, Hibiki, how did your shopping trip go- HIBIKI YOUR CLOTHES!"  
  
You frown in confusion- and then see the remains of your shirt and remember _you just ruined all your clothes._ "AWAHWAHWAHWAH-" You splutter wordlessly as you very quickly put your new hoodie back on. Fortunately, you manage it.  
  
"Oh no, Hibiki! Are you okay?" Your beloved sunshine panickedly asked, a look of intense worry on her face. "Did you get attacked or something? Do I need to look through that old first aid kit? How does your body feel!?"  
  
"Miku, it's alright! I'm fine!" You reply, waving your hands in the air. "I didn't get hurt at all! Not even a scratch on me!"  
  
"THEN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CLOTHES!?"  
  
You rub the back of your head, smiling sheepishly as you shrink back a bit from your sunshine's worried fury. "Eheheheh… Well, you see, I was walking back here with the food when all of a sudden-"  
  
*CRASHBANGWOBBLE*  
  
The two of you spin at the sudden chaos. Most people would, but they would be trying to figure out what the racket was in the first place. You two, on the other hand, have only one thought that runs through both your minds at the exact same time:  
  
 _Someone just triggered one of Miku's traps._  
  
Immediately, without even a word or so much as glancing at each other, you both move- and you instantly trip and fall over, because the world hates you. Fortunately, you have really great reflexes and you catch yourself, springing back to your feet, but it takes you a second to catch up with Miku. You're cursed. Still, you're both really fast, so it doesn't take more than a few seconds of running to reach the snare that got triggered, where you find…  
  
… that random biker dude you saved earlier? Huh!?  
  
You stand still for a moment, confused. It is, your second check confirms, the same guy from earlier- poofy hair style thingy and all. He's upside down at the moment, but it's definitely the same person. But why is he _here_? Miku, however, does not share your confusion, and advances towards the thoroughly stuck biker with a glacial expression that _really_ doesn't belong on her face, no matter how often you see it.  
  
"Who are you?" She demands. You _hate_ seeing her make herself act like this. But she won't stop. Not as long as she thinks acting up to the reputation _they_ gave her will help you both somehow. So you just try not to think about how _wrong_ it is for your sunshine to act this _cold_ as she continues. "How do you know about this place? What do you want?"  
  
"Hey! Back off!" The guy yells, and you have to restrain the sudden urge to deck him for talking to Miku like that. He's hanging in the air upside-down, you can't deck him right now anyway. "You're not my boss here, kiddo- OW GODDAMNIT!" He yells in sudden pain as Miku pulls on a string next to her. Did she… rig it so she could tighten it with the string? You don't know how Miku's traps work. Ever.  
  
"As I said. Who. Are. You?" Your sunshine repeats, still cold. You two aren't exactly intimidating, you externally look like normal teenage girls, but from what Miku's told you, you don't need to look scary to _be_ scary. She's definitely proving it right now, you can say that much.  
  
"Tch- My name's Teruo! I came here looking for some other kid- girl around your age, brownie blonde hair and eyes! Now will you put me down alr- OH FUCKING DAMMIT!" He yells as Miku less pulls on the string as much as yanks it with all her strength. Well, not _all_ her strength or the poor guy would be in actual danger, but it's more strength than a girl as small as the two of you really should have.  
  
" _Why are you looking for her_!?" Your sunshine hisses, suddenly very angry. Normally Miku getting this mad is really really bad, and you should probably do something, but you're a touch busy being _really confused_. Why was he looking for you? How did he _find_ you!? You aren't _that_ bad at hiding or you'd be dead or worse! _You have so many questions!_  
  
"OW FOR- STOP PULLING THAT FUCKING STRING AND I'LL ANSWER, HOLY SHIT!" He yells right back, and your sunshine, with a facial expression that made the one you called glacial earlier look like a warm evening in June, very slowly does so. "Oh for the love of… Look, about two hours ago a bunch of total bastards who've been running around decided to start shit, alright? I'd normally be able to handle myself, but there was like a dozen of the assholes, which is a _touch_ more than I can take."  
  
"I fail to see how this is relevant." Miku cuts in. "Answer the question. Why are you looking for her?"  
  
"I'm getting there, you maniac! I was getting the crap kicked out of me, but then that girl I mentioned showed up and saved my ass! She kicked all of them into next week by herself then somehow punched the wall out of the universe! But she wrecked her clothes doing it and ran off before I could thank her!" Miku stares flatly at him for a moment, as a sinking feeling enters your stomach. " _I'm so dead_ …" you think internally, a bead of sweat rolling down your face.  
  
"So _that's_ what happened… right, fine, I'll pass on your thanks or whatever. Now why did you come all the way out here? Don't think for a second I believe that's the whole story-"  
  
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH!? After your friend or whoever charged off, I was gonna drop it, but when I went round the corner she'd come through, I saw those bags over there!" He shouts, pointing behind him. You turn, a little confused, to see… the food? YOU'RE SAVED! "She must've dropped em or something when she came in to pull me outta the fire and then forgotten them when she charged off! I just wanted to give her back the damn food as thanks, alright!?"  
  
Miku stares at the food. Her eyes twitch. You're _doomed_. But then she turns back to Teruo, and you realise now would _probably_ be a good time to step in before your sunshine really wrecks this guy's day. "Right, you came all the way out here to give her back the food. Do you think I'm an idiot? Tell me what you're doing here. Now. Because trust me-"  
  
"Okay! Everyone just calm down one second!" You hastily shout. Both turn to look at you, Miku with a look that lets you know that yes you are in fact doomed and Teruo with a look of surprise as he recognises you.  
  
"Hey! It's you!" He says, "I was looking for you! Thanks for saving my ass earlier!"  
  
"Yup! Um, hello! Eheheheh…" you find yourself laughing nervously again today. "Um, really it was no problem. Helping people out is kinda a hobby for me." You quickly turn to Miku, whispering at a volume you know she can hear but you're pretty sure Teruo can't. "Okay, Cer I know you're probably mad but come on! He brought us food he can't be that bad, right?"  
  
"Are you serious, Fen?" Your sunshine whispers back. "He tracks you, of all people, all the way here, and you seriously buy he's just wanting to thank you? And we'll be talking about that later!"  
  
You wince a little, you are so dead, but forge onward as Teruo watches in confusion. "Okay so yeah most people wouldn't find me easily, but I wasn't paying attention for a lot of the walk! He probably just picked up on something while I was distracted! Come on, give him a chance! He probably isn't much older than we are!"  
  
Miku stares at you with an annoyed look, then sighs in exasperation. "Fine." She says out loud then turns to Teruo. "Alright, my friend here managed to talk me into it. I'll let you go, but you have to promise you won't come back here or follow her ever again. Am I clear?"  
  
"Okay! Just put me down already goddamnit!" He yells angrily. Miku does so. She doesn't warn him first. Ow. "Ugh! Dammit what the hell is _with_ her…" He says to himself, clearly not intending for you to hear him. You decide not to mention you did. He was nice enough to bring you food, you won't be a jerk. "Alright, fine I'm going." He gets up, and starts walking off… but then, right before he turns the corner, he looks back. "Hey, by the way, what do you go by?"  
  
" _He didn't ask for our names_." You note with surprise. You guess this guy knows a bit about what life is like, when you live on the streets. Miku opens her mouth, clearly intending to tell him it's none of his business, but you cut her off. "It's Fen! And she's Cer!" You cheerily say. It feels a bit odd, using the nicknames your old friends came up with for you both as just what you tell people to call you, but… none of the people who know what those names used to mean is around except the two of you. So it doesn't matter.  
  
He stands there for a second, murmuring under his breath, then turns around. "Well, see you around one of these days!" And with that, he walks off.  
  
You both stand there for a moment after he leaves, letting a few seconds pass as you both use your really good senses to make sure no one else is around, before Miku speaks up.  
  
"Hibiki?"  
  
"Yeah Miku?"

"We're moving again."  
  
You groan. "I'm cursed…"


	2. Searching For A Sword

You are Kohinata Miku, and at present, you are packing your bag of personal items. Given your situation, it won’t take you long to pack. All you have are some clothes and the devices you stole from _them_ that day. After one unfortunate mishap a few months back, you learned that letting your shining sun carry any machine more complex than a two-way radio is a terrible idea. Hibiki just carries her own clothes and the bag with the food, water and the scrap you make traps out of. She's currently getting the last bag ready in the room you had been using for storage.

Satisfied, you turn around and find yourself staring for a few minutes at a collection of unmarked plastic bottles. It's a rather important collection. After all, the pills inside them are the only reason Hibiki's still alive.

At that exact moment, Hibiki rushes in, one bag on her back and another in her hand. A girl her size would normally be unable to carry even one of the large duffle bags, but her strength makes it easy for her. Small blessings, you suppose.

"Hey, Miku! I'm ready to go! Do we really have to leave? We only just got here!" She says rapidly, not even a breath between sentences.

You smile exasperatedly. _"Honestly, Hibiki,"_ you think. _"How are you this hyperactive? You'd think that you would have grown up by now, but you're as restless as you were when we were still kids."_ You know that the two of you would still be considered children by most people’s standards even if you aren’t aware of your exact ages, but children don't normally know the sorts of things you two know. Out loud, you say, "You know, it's completely your fault. We wouldn't have to move as much if you didn't keep risking our cover unnecessarily."

"Oh come on! How was that my fault!?" She complains, shoulders falling dramatically. "Those guys were kicking the stuffing out of him! He might've died if I hadn't helped!" Her face falls as she speaks, her eyes becoming slightly empty for just a second before she tries to hide it.

You sigh and think to yourself. _"Hibiki… why do you still care? He had nothing to do with us. He's just a random delinquent. Helping him does nothing except put yourself at risk. Why do you keep uselessly helping strangers after everything we’ve been through?"_

"Hibiki, I know you were trying to help him, but you _blew up a wall by punching it._ That isn't exactly subtle. People are going to hear about this. The girl who can destroy walls with a single punch will be the talk of the streets by the day after next!" You point out. You don't expect this to work, it's _Hibiki,_ but you're worried by how she keeps doing this!

Hibiki whimpers, puts her head down, and does her best impression of a kicked puppy. Normally, it would have caused you to relent, but you needed to put your foot down. “Hibiki,” you say in your best impression of Mom, “we've been having this very conversation over and over again ever since we escaped. Every time you go out and save some stray cat or whatever, it causes a big commotion, I get mad at you, and you get all sad. Frankly, I’m tired of having this conversation.”

Hibiki looks away from you, ashamed. And as expected, you feel an annoying sense of guilt. As if _you_ were the one in the wrong. You know she’s not doing this on purpose, but you both know in your hearts that your shining sun is also your greatest weakness.

You take a deep breath and then exhale. “Alright,” you say. “We’ll compromise. Next time you have this urge to help someone, you do it on my terms, and you do it with my help if you’re able. Okay?”

This seemed to console her because she smiled a little. “Okay, I understand. It’s a deal.” She took your hand with both of her hands. “Miku, I’m so sorry. I just get so caught up in my own feelings, and I really should be thinking about you before I do stuff like this and put you in danger.”

 _“You should be thinking about YOURSELF! I shouldn’t be the one who cares more about you than_ you _care about you!”_ You shout internally. You don't say it out loud. She wouldn't listen. You don't think Hibiki has listened to someone telling her to actually take care of herself since the day the Professor told everyone that she was dying. Still, her concession will have the net benefit of helping keep her out of trouble.

So instead you just sigh in exasperation. "It's alright, just… promise to be more careful from now on, okay? I… I don't want _them_ to take you away because you tried to help someone."

Hibiki flinches for a second, her eyes going blank. Terror springs forth at the thought you might've hurt her because you _hadn't meant to say that,_ hadn't meant to make her _remember._ But then the light comes back to her eyes, the look of despair and fear on her face gone as quickly as it came. You nearly collapse in relief.

"I know. I… I don't wanna lose you, either. That's why I'll always try to protect you, even if I keep screwing up. But I know you worry about me too. So, I'll try to wait for you next time!" She finishes, an earnest look on her face that, for just a second, lets you feel that it's all going to be okay.

You aren't really sure what to say. She tends to do that to you at times. So instead, you just hug her. And as you completely ignore her squeak of surprise, a single thought runs through your mind.

 _"Hibiki… you're such an idiot. But… I want to be with you more than anything else in the whole world."_

* * *

  
Later, in the dark of the night, the two of you stand on a hill a small way out of town. Standing on hilltops together isn’t unusual for the two of you. During your captivity, you never got to see nature outside of battle, so you make a point to stand there and take it all in whenever you have the chance to rest since your escape. The trek across the countryside by foot gave you plenty of opportunities for sight-seeing. But you aren't planning to walk this time.

Walking to the capital from here would take far too long to be worth the effort.

"Oh man! I can't believe it! We're finally going to make it to Tokyo!" Hibiki cheers, bouncing around the hilltop in excitement. You admit you're enthusiastic yourself. Reaching the destination you've been heading towards after all the walking, hiding, and doubling back on yourselves again and again so _they_ didn't realise you had a destination in mind the whole time will be an accomplishment. You're almost there.

"Yes, it's great to finally be this close. After all, Tokyo is probably the safest place for us we can reach," you reply, already thinking about what to look for in a new hideout. It can't be too small because Hibiki needs a lot of room or she… gets upset. But it can't be too large either, or else most of the space will become a waste. It needs to be out of the way, where random people won't just stumble on you, but it can't be obviously hidden, because those are the places your pursuers will check first. It needs to be close to shops, junkyards and other places Hibiki can find useful things, not to mention you when she's unavailable for whatever reason, but not so close it's easy to follow you. So many things to keep track of…

"Ah, come on Miku! It's _Tokyo,_ who knows what kinda stuff we'll get to do there?" Your shining sun complains, throwing her arms to the sky. "There's touristy stuff! Carnivals! Big shops with really nice food! And it's not… that far from…" She trails off, but you don't need her to finish.

You spent twelve years of your life being told that Chiba, the place you were born, was only forty kilometres from Tokyo.

"That isn't important." You brusquely move past the subject. After all, going to see your families will only drag them into your lives, make them targets for the ones you fight. They don't deserve that.

Even if it hurts, a little, not seeing them.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hibiki says in a very uncharacteristically quiet voice. Your head quickly turns, a small chill of anxiety in your stomach. It gets worse when you see the sad, downtrodden look on her face.

You bite your lip. You know that Hibiki isn't really… okay. To be honest with yourself, you likely aren't either. You don't know if anyone can come out of what you've both been through completely alright. But Hibiki has moments when she simply stops dead, a blank look on her face, and won't do anything for ages, not even eat. All she'll say afterwards is that she was 'remembering some stuff', and then she just smiles and insists she's fine.

You _hate_ it. You _hate_ the way she refuses to let you help her. But it's Hibiki. If she decides not to tell you something, _nothing_ will make her. So all you can do is try to be there, and let her talk when she feels like she can.

You don't know what else to do.

You know it almost happened again this morning. Your stupid mistake almost sent her back to that horrible, horrible place you both wish to forget. But all she did was reassure you that everything was fine when you tried to apologise on the way here. Yet the look on her face is all the proof you need she is _not,_ in fact, fine. You mull it over and decide it's best to say something now. "Hibiki, are you sure-"

A honking racket echoes forth as you whip your heads to face the disturbance that sounds terrifyingly familiar. Considering you never faced that thing except from the safety of a video screen, you can't imagine what it's like for Hibiki when she had to _fight it repeatedly._

Fortunately, it is not in fact the Jotunn. It’s just the train you've been waiting on. A slower train that was going straight to your destination? That had been too good an opportunity to ignore! You had clambered up to this hill, positioned conveniently above a bend in the tracks, in order to catch it.

"Oh, hey! There it is!" Hibiki excitedly chirps, whatever was on her mind forgotten for the moment. You don't for a second believe that she's completely over whatever left her so distracted today. But if she’s smiling like that, then you'll take it.

"You ready, Miku? It'll be here fast!" The look of slight concern on her face, open as she always has been when she isn't trying to hide, is… touching, you guess would be the word, but she really shouldn't worry.

"I am, Hibiki. Don't worry about me." You say calmly. You grab your bag, and move to stand at the ready on the overhang. "I might be weaker than you, but I can handle this easily enough. Besides, we've done this a few times now - it isn't that different from jumping onto a large scale Noise." Actually it's quite a bit easier. Trains don't try to hit you like Noise and Relic Beasts do.

"Well, if you say so Miku!" She says, grabbing her own bags before slowly- _too_ slowly, you notice; she must be having a pretty bad day if she's being this careful - lowering into the jumping stance Mentor taught you to use. Of course, she _meant_ for you to use it when you were in a fight and transformed, but you've both ended up using a lot of her lessons in unintended ways. You take the same stance, and wait.

You both sit there for a second, slow breaths in and out as you wait. The train approaches, a slower passenger liner. That's good. Hibiki might've been able to jump onto the shinkansen during her good days, but you would need to transform for that. It speedily comes up to the bend, slowing down as it starts to turn. You wait a moment longer. And then, right as the train is halfway past the bend, you move.

You don't need to tell Hibiki when to jump. The two of you don’t need words to communicate, at least not for these situations. So, without a word or glance, you both leap forward at the same instant. For most people, trying to jump on board a speeding train from ten feet away would’ve been suicidal. You don't even give it much thought. Hibiki lands before you do, touching down into a crouch dead centre. She's just faster than you, let alone stronger. You aren't quite so sure in your landing, a half-foot off centre and half a second later. Unacceptably far off, given how little effort Hibiki put into that.

You both start moving straight away, once you both glance at each other's direction to make sure something didn't go wrong in unanticipated ways. Hibiki wouldn't be in any danger, and even you would probably be fine even if the train genuinely hit you, but as Cwn used to say, "Murphy is a complete son of a bitch and he hates our guts." You never knew why Cwn called fate “Murphy,” but the sentiment seemed true enough.

You quickly move to the rear of the train, moving the way Mentor taught you for when you needed to get around unnoticed. You're better at this than Hibiki, by a significant margin, but moving quietly enough a bunch of random, untrained people who have never known anything but peace or maybe the Noise don't hear you is well within her ability. Once you're on top of the second-to-last car, you quickly get your bags in a pile, and sit down with them behind you. It's a system you've been using for a while now. It lets you get around far faster than hiking, without having to deal with the wind too much.

Once you sit down, Hibiki sighs, a deep breath escaping her. You immediately feel the familiar niggling anxiety, wondering if her condition was hitting her harder than you thought today. She seemed to be moving fine, and even got herself into a fight because she's an _idiot,_ but she's always acting like she's feeling better than she is! And then she finally speaks. "Man, I'm tired… Night, Miku…"

And like that, she's asleep. You stare in momentary disbelief. Even after all this time with her, Hibiki still does things that leave you at a loss for words. Falling asleep on top of a speeding train is definitely now one of those things.

You debate the merits of awakening her from her impromptu nap. On the one hand, she was asleep on top of a speeding train. Hibiki would absolutely not get hurt if she fell off, but it would be annoying for both of you. Or… or you might get separated if you don't react in time, which is a possibility you don't even want to _think_ about.

But at the same time… Hibiki needs to _rest._ Her body is already in bad shape. With how hard she pushes herself, it's a miracle she hasn't been left in serious danger from going past what she can _take_ nowadays. But she won't let herself so much as simply take a while out of the day to give herself a chance to recover. She still feels like she has to do everything she can to help you, even after all this time…

Decision made, you draw up next to your shining sun, unconsciously taking her hand as you settle into place. You'll keep watch and make sure nothing goes too badly wrong. It's the least you can possibly do, after all she's done for your sake.

* * *

  
Hibiki doesn’t wake up for several hours. You spent most of those few hours keeping watch. Very few Harmonics can run anywhere near this quickly, but even if you're the only one who can fly, you aren't the only one who has ways of getting around faster than just long distance sprinting. If one of them shows up, you can't let them sneak up on you and manage an ambush.

You also spend some time practicing what you preach, and simply relaxing. Mentor told you quite firmly once that there was no point pushing yourself until you broke, and her advice, as ever, was wise. Honestly though, you don't need much to keep going, and now isn't the time to wind up falling asleep yourself!

It does cause the disconcerting, occasionally slightly sore sensation where Shenshoujing meets the rest of your body to subside, which is nice. You don't notice it much, but it can get… distracting. _"Annoying Relic."_ You grumble to yourself. _"You cause me as many problems as you solve."_

Finally, Hibiki snaps awake. Hibiki is somehow, despite everything, still a heavy sleeper, but once she does wake up, she's fully conscious and upright immediately. It's the same for you, though you always have been a light sleeper. Her eyes quickly glance around, before she looks your way, a small hint of guilt in her eyes as she realises she fell asleep on you. "Morning Miku." She whispers softly.

You smile. "Morning Hibiki. Did the rest help?" Immediately the guilt on her face is gone, replaced by relief. Good. Hibiki shouldn't have to worry about you being angry with her for something like this. She has enough to deal with.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, I guess I was more tired than I thought. I do feel a lot better now, though." She leans backwards into the pile of bags as she speaks, and the simple motion is enough to tell you she isn't lying to stop you from worrying this time. There's a kind of weight to her movements on bad days like yesterday, the ones where the pain starts to be more than even she can ignore, and Gungnir solidifies in all the wrong places. "How long was I out?"

You understand instantly what she's not saying. It's been a while since Hibiki blacked out for any length of time except after a particularly bad battle, but she still worries about it every now and then. You're still on the train, so she probably knows it wasn't more than a short nap, but some of Hibiki's fears don’t need to be reasonable. "Only a few hours. The sun isn't even up yet, see?" You answer, pointing out towards the east.

"Oh, good." She murmurs, sighing. "Woulda been bad if I'd missed something crazy enough to hold us back a whole day."

After that, the two of you simply sit there together, waiting for the sun. It's… nice, being able to just sit with Hibiki and watch the night sky like this. The only way it could be better was if there were some shooting stars for you both. For so long, white plaster and cold metal were the only sights you could see when you looked around at night. Now, you could see the stars.

You're free now, and so is Hibiki. You won't lose this freedom again. Never. No matter what you have to do or who you must become to keep it.

Then you notice the sky is brighter than it was earlier, and turn around. Sure enough, the sun is almost up. You almost missed it - you must've been more lost in thought than you realised. A completely unacceptable lapse in attention - the Jotunn could've snuck up on you there, and it's thirty meters tall!

As you continue to berate yourself for your sudden drifting off, you turn to Hibiki as you make the effort to smile. "Hibiki, look. The sun's up." She turns around, blinking. Did she drift off as well? Even more reason why you should've kept focus.

"Oh, hey! It is!" She says, surprised. "Geez, I musta been off in a world of my own there… oh, yeah, right." She suddenly breaks off, quickly opening one of the bags. She reaches inside, pulls out an unmarked plastic bottle, the sort you'd find indigestion cures in, opens it, flicks out a pill a little larger than her fingertip, pops it into her mouth, and swallows. You don't take your eyes off of her until she's done. The suppression drug is in limited supply as it is, you can't risk losing some of what doses you do have from bad luck.

Your shining sun's face scrunches up like she just ate the most sour lemon in existence, and for a moment, you have to restrain the urge to giggle at her. "Man, I hate how this stuff tastes. Why couldn’t it have tasted like grapes instead of some hellish hybrid of lemon and chilli!?" Hibiki complains loudly, handing the bottle to you as you set about putting it back in the bag. You can't help but sympathise - it wasn't that long ago you were taking that stuff twice a week yourself, and it really does taste utterly horrendous. Back when the two of you first started being given it, you could barely hold your stomach after. Of course, by now it doesn't really register, but it still just tastes _terrible._

Then you take a look at the insides of the bottle, and your smile fades. _"This one is almost empty now…. There's only enough left for about a week, or maybe a transformation or two."_ You think, the all too familiar anxiety building. _"We only have four containers left… At this rate, we'll run out in six months. If we can't find either more medicine or something that can at least partially treat her by then, Hibiki will-"_ You end that thought as fast as you can. You won't let that happen. _Never._

You turn your head to check on her. She looks alright. For all her complaints, the medication is doing its job. Gungnir remains dormant inside her. She's breathing easily, and she seems to be moving just fine. Even the winces of pain she thinks you don't notice are gone for now.

Today looks like it's going to be a good day.

At that moment, Hibiki idly looks towards the front of the train, and her eyes widen. "Miku, look! I can see the city!" She shouted out, nearly jumping to her feet in excitement before a bend reminds her where she is. You quickly glance backwards yourself, and for a moment you see nothing. You almost wonder if Hibiki imagined it from bottled hyperactive energy, but then, finally, you catch a glimpse of metal and glass.

 _"We're actually there."_ You think, almost unable to believe it. After so long running and hiding like hunted foxes, after so long never knowing whether this day would be the last one free, you're really here. You don't expect to really be safe, of course. That would be asking far too much, in your life. You don't even expect to be able to stop looking over your shoulder quite so often. But here, in this city of almost forty million people…

Here in this urban jungle, maybe even _they_ will be hard pressed to find you.

Then you shake off the sudden curtain of optimism. False hope can only hurt you in the end. Still, this is about as close to safety as you can reasonably get. There are a lot of small, dishevelled street kids in Tokyo. Finding just two will, hopefully, not prove an easy feat. It won't last forever, despite Hibiki's hopes to the contrary you remain convinced of that, but it offers time. Time to rest, recover, and plan what to do next. Time to make sure that next time, _you'll_ be holding the advantage. And so, you let yourself smile a little in relief. Just this once.

"Oh man. Finally! We've finally made it! YES! Try and find us here, jerks! Your stupid science and progress can eat dust! Hahahahahaha!"

Hibiki, of course, is much less restrained in her joy. You're quite certain she'd be dancing in happiness if you weren't still on top of a moving train. You don't blame her. Out of the two of you, she's got far more to lose. To _them,_ you're nothing more than a curiosity, only of interest because of your unique flight ability and Shenshoujing's strange power. But Hibiki…

 _They_ desire Hibiki… No, _they_ desire what _they_ think _they_ could turn her into. And _they'll_ do anything to her. But you won't let them. No matter what.

You sit back and let Hibiki celebrate knowing you have a while to wait yet. You can't get off until the train slows down near a convenient building. So, as you enter the suburbs and pass by a surprisingly well-to-do area, you just muse a little on how to set up your traps. So. Many. Possibilities.

*BEEP!BEEP!BEEEEEEEEP!*

You freeze instantly. You can't have heard what you thought you just did. You can't have. You can't have lost this one place of potential safety before you even _arrived_!

"Um. Miku? Please tell me I didn't just hear the Relic detector go off for a second there."

 _"…Shit."_

* * *

  
The two of you were silent for the rest of the train ride. You tried convincing yourself that it was nothing. It might have been a glitch or a Relic that by chance or cultural importance hasn't ended up in _their_ hands yet.

But you're not that lucky.

After a few minutes, you find a handy building, and jump off the train. How do you salvage this before everything goes to hell? If _they're_ here, then Tokyo’s a lot more dangerous than you had anticipated. A huge part of why you came here was that it would be difficult to start looking for you in a place where so many people lived, but if _they_ have a base here already, evading your pursuers just got orders of magnitude more difficult. You curse yourself for your foolishness - this is the capital of an entire _nation,_ one that's become bigger and bigger on the world stage in recent years, one with the kind of history and legends bound to produce Relics! Of _course they_ would want a base here!

After a short while of walking, you get to a run down area not far from the tracks. You almost don't have to think about how to find a hideout once you decide what you want to look for these days. It's a good thing, with how distracted you are. Eventually, you find a good spot. A tiny hotel, only six rooms or so. More than you really need, but the extra room will be good for Hibiki. She doesn't do well when she's in a small space these days- it reminds her too much.

After searching the block to make sure you're alone, you quickly pick a room to act as a storage space. Hibiki drops all her bags there and immediately vanishes. You let her - you know what she's doing, and it's something important enough to mildly delay getting your things put away. Three minutes later, she's back, a maybe saddened but calm expression on her face, and gets to helping you. You mentally make a note to check the room she was in later, and return to getting your assorted devices in an organised row.

Once that's all done, you switch to finding which room you'll be sleeping in. After checking all the non storerooms save one, you decide on the one with the most intact bed. You don't really talk about the decision, but you can tell Hibiki agrees. Probably because that one has an actual mattress, which is a _godsend._

As all this is going on, your thoughts absently turn to how you're going to set up the traps. You've already got so many ideas! A few old standbys, obviously, no need to fix something that isn't broken, but with the new materials Hibiki scrounged together-

"Hey, Miku, whatcha thinking about?" Your shining sun interrupts, looking around the corner as she gets bored of exploring the small building.

"Oh, Hibiki! Sorry, just thinking about my traps. I've got a lot of new ideas! And with the stuff you found a few days ago, I've finally got enough for this one plan I've been thinking over for ages!" You reply.

"Really? What is it?" Hibiki asks. "Was it that one Rude Goldburger thing you kept talking about a week or two back? The big pitfall thing? That one sounded cool."

"Rube Goldberg, Hibiki. And yeah, it is!" You answer. "I mean, it would be a lot easier to make it simpler, but I don't have the electrical and mechanical parts we'd need. So I need to be a little imaginative about how to pull it off. I was thinking about using all this old sheet metal to make the cover, since it should hold up to people walking on it, but if I use this old piece of rope and fix that rusty pulley you found, then rig these old cans so they cause the rope to pull back when they get knocked over, I can have it so the sheet gets pulled from right under their feet! I'll need your help though, I don't really have the strength to make a big enough pit fast enough, but once we manage that-"

Hibiki laughs. It's not a very big laugh, not like how you vaguely remember back before the concert, when she would laugh so hard you could hear her on the other end of the block. Just a small giggle as she watches you. But it grabs your attention right away. You love it so much when she laughs. It's been so rare a sound, for so long.

"What is it, Hibiki?" You ask, wondering why she suddenly seems so happy.

"Oh, nothing." She answers, still covering her mouth. "It's just…" Then she looks up, and Shenshoujing has to remind your heart to keep beating, because it feels like so long since you saw her smile like this. "The way you talk about your traps just always makes me think about how you used to go on and on about ZweiWing back before the concert! And I'm just really glad you're so excited about them!"

Your face freezes. _"ZweiWing?"_ Yes, you remember that. They were your favourite singers before everything happened. Actually, you're pretty sure the concert was one of theirs. You did love their music… What were their names again? Not that important, really. Your mind is more focused on the fact you apparently were being visibly excited about something as inane as your traps! "Wha- WHAT!?" You felt the sides of your mouth and realized that, yes, you did have a big, goofy smile on your face. You splutter, your face now burning. Hibiki just laughs more once she sees your face, and that makes it _even worse_.

Still feeling like your face is on fire, you quickly grab some food, to distract Hibiki if nothing else. Sure enough, it works like a charm, your shining sun diving for the food as soon as she sees it. Disaster averted. You were actually feeling peckish yourself, so the food was a good idea. Soon, the meal is finished, you and Hibiki sitting next to each other against the wall.

And… you're out of ways to avoid discussing the situation.

To your surprise, Hibiki speaks first. "Did the detector figure out what it was looking at?"

You shake your head, internally glad she started. "No. Whatever it thought it found, we were only in range of it for a few moments. I barely caught that it went off."

Hibiki rubs her shoulder. "It might've been a glitch or something, or even just something _they_ haven't found yet. We know they aren't everywhere. Heck, we stumbled on Yagatama in the middle of a cave by total accident that one time."

"It might've… but we're not that lucky." You say quietly.

Hibiki sighs. "Yeah… guess we're not. So what do we do?"

"I'd rather we do nothing." You admit. Once, Hibiki would've gotten upset with you for saying that. Now, she stays silent and lets you explain. She's better than you deserve, in so many ways. "There's only the two of us, against an entire base. We're strong, yes, but that's not a battle we could take lightly. Not only that, but if we attack and don't succeed, we'll let _them_ know exactly where we're hiding. I'd prefer if we just found it, marked where not to go, and just let the sleeping tiger not be poked."

Hibiki nods, and then she looks at you and you realise you've already lost this argument. Once Hibiki gets that look in her eye, nothing in this world can stop her. "I think we should do something. Yeah, it's a little dangerous, but there isn't much that _isn't_ dangerous for us. Letting a base stay standing in our new hideout sounds like a terrible plan, and Tokyo is huge enough it'll be a long while before we'd run out of places to run to. And besides, it's _them_. _They_ only put a base somewhere if they want to run some of their evil plans nearby. I won't stand back and let them hurt people. Not in a million years!"

Yeah, you lost this one before it even began. No matter what, Hibiki is someone who can't let evil stand, even if it puts her in harm's way. It's so stupid of her, but…

It's one of the reasons you love her.

Not that you've ever said that out loud. Your lives aren't exactly the kind suited for such things.

You sigh and admit defeat. At least you get the opportunity for some payback. "Well, either way, we can't just jump straight in. We have to actually _find_ the base, for one. Not to mention any Harmonics that might be in residence - and for a base this size, there's almost certainly more than one. We might not be an especially large category, but we're far from one in a billion. And that's all my job, so you should just relax for now, all right? And even when we do find them, you leave most of the fighting to me unless I genuinely can't handle it. No jumping into a fight and leaving yourself in even worse shape unless absolutely necessary!" You say, once more using your Mom impersonation.

"All right, all right! I'll take it easy, geez!" Hibiki complains, throwing her hands into the air. Then she smiles again. "Thanks, Miku."

You sigh in resignation. You really are helpless against her, aren't you? "It's nothing, Hibiki."

* * *

  
And so, the next day finds you away before dawn. This isn't exactly unusual for you. You and Hibiki quickly realised when you escaped from _that place_ that your sleep schedules had been thrown completely off at some point, but this time you actually _intended_ to wake up this early, instead of your body deciding it was morning when it really, really wasn't.

Fortunately, Hibiki wakes up just a minute after you, so you don't have to worry about her noticing you're gone, not remembering the conversation last night, and panicking. That would've ended catastrophically for both her health and any property in a several kilometre radius until she remembered where you went. Instead, she sleepily poked her head up, yawned, asked if you were going somewhere and wished you luck when you told her about your plans for the day.

As for what precisely you intend to do, that much is simple: find that base.

You aren't exactly trained in intelligence gathering. _They_ never saw _any_ Harmonics as much more than disposable weapons to point at whatever they wanted broken. But Mentor prepared you for everything she could think of, and part of that was how to be stealthy when necessary. She primarily meant it for sneaking up on foes you didn't want aware of your presence until the last instant, and you got _very_ good at that, but learning how to sneak up on the kind of supernatural entities _they_ threw you at makes sneaking up on most humans child's play.

Today, though, you won't have to really put your skill to the test. Today is the easy part: finding someone to lead you there. Of course, that necessitates finding someone who works there. As bad as _they_ are at actual spy things, they wouldn't have become anywhere near as powerful as they are if they didn't know how to conceal their operations and facilities from prying eyes. But you have an advantage, and it relies on one simple fact:

No Harmonic in their right mind willingly goes around without their pendant unless absolutely necessary.

Certainly, all Harmonics _they_ got their hands on were trained to fight; you yourself had experienced that training, but most of your fellows were just normal girls. Strong, fast and skilled girls, but without the pendant containing their Relic most Harmonics were basically helpless. So obviously, none of them would want to go around without it. Even ignoring that, to many of the others like Mentor, being able to carry their pendant was one of the few real pieces of freedom they _had._ Sure, it was all but useless to them without LiNKER, but it was _something_ for people who so often had nothing else. They wouldn't let go of it unless they physically had to so the complex devices inside could be repaired. Meaning any Harmonics who live in this base will probably have theirs with them.

And it just so happens you're carrying a device designed to detect and identify Relics.

Hibiki wouldn't like this. By doing this, you were taking advantage of girls who were probably going through the same hell you’d gone through. And you knew that, more than likely, your success would lead to their punishment. It wasn’t kind of you to do that. But kindness is a luxury you can’t afford.

The detector can only pick up a Relic that's in a pendant from roughly fifty metres away, which is something of an obstacle. However, Harmonics are, in general, not good at acting like normal people. They stand out from the crowd in all sorts of ways. In addition, you know that the oldest Harmonic is Mentor, and she can't be older than twenty. Finally, the detector went off in the outskirts of the city, in a well off looking area, which means any agents, Harmonics included, will spend most of their time in a small area around it.

So, you're only looking for girls less than twenty years old who are bad at acting normally and in a small area near where you came into the city. Difficult? Definitely. But you'll manage. Still, you can only hope you'll manage to find one soon- Hibiki doesn't have enough time for you to waste any.

You prowl the streets for the next few hours, keeping an eye out for the classic signs of a Harmonic. Young, wearing a hidden necklace, jumpy, trying to avoid the crowds. Same as you in some respects, though you've long learned how to clamp down on your nerves. Of course, you also watch for more mundane agents. Considering _they_ apparently decided dressing like classic men in black was a good way to avoid notice, are usually armed and are _far_ too sloppy about hiding it, and generally stand out like sore thumbs, you're fairly good at noticing them.

Of course, when you notice them, you're often a few minutes away from being opportunistically ambushed. They always underestimate you.

Then, so faintly you almost miss it, you overhear a conversation between two girls, younger than you. Judging from what you looked like when you saw your reflection a day or two ago, anyway. You didn't intend to overhear them - once you watched closely, your enhanced senses made it clear they weren't wearing necklaces, and you'd turned to leave. But by simple chance, you happened to hear what they said.

"Did you hear? Kazanari Tsubasa is having a concert today!"

"Really? A Tsubasa concert? Where? When?"

"Just a few blocks away east, at the charity hall! She's putting on a performance to help with a fundraiser! I can't believe our luck, she'll be on in just three hours! If we hurry we might be able to get tickets and we can actually get seats for a live concert!"

"REALLY!? Oh my God, this is amazing! Her concerts have been so rare since Kanade died! We have to get moving so we can get those tickets, come on!"

"No kidding! Hurry up, you know how fast those tickets sell!"

It isn't any massively revealing bombshell. It isn't anything that affects you. Even if you were a normal person, it would be irrelevant. And yet, you stop. You frown to yourself. Something about that conversation was familiar. Something that brought up hazy, indistinct memories of what life was like before the concert. But what was it? What caused you to remember?

And then it hits you. _"Ah, yes. Kazanari Tsubasa. One of the two singers of ZweiWing."_ You smile to yourself. You always did love her music, even if it's all just half remembered fragments of melodies now. Too bad Amou Kanade apparently died, you weren't as obsessed with her solo songs as you were with Tsubasa's, but their duets were beautiful. You wonder what happened to her-

**_"OI! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON'T GIVE UP ON LIFE!"_**

Ah. So that was it.

You blink, and the small ache in your knees causes you to realise you'd been completely lost in thought. A good thing you were sticking to the alleys - if you had been on the main streets, suddenly freezing like that would've brought all sorts of attention you don't want. But those memories… were painful ones.

You close your eyes. _"Thank you… Kanade-san. It didn't go too well after that, thanks to your superiors, but we're still alive thanks to you. I'm sorry I almost forgot… but I won't ever again. And knowing her, Hibiki never did."_

Then you open your eyes and begin to plan your next move. According to your suddenly clear memory of the concert (and _that's_ a subject to worry about later), Kazanari Tsubasa is a Harmonic. This means she's either a rogue, or with _them._ If she's a rogue, you have an ally, but no rogue would ever lead a life so high profile. _They_ would find them in an instant, and no private security could stop them reclaiming what they see as theirs. Meaning, you have your lead. You just have to make sure.

You whirl around, find where you saw those girls, and find east. Then you start walking. If Kazanari's concerts are as majestic as you remember, it'll be hard to miss.

* * *

  
Sure enough, it's hard to miss. It isn't as big an affair as the concert was, just a small performance for a fundraiser, but the massive crowd holding up placards and cheering is rather obvious. You honestly feel a little sad you can't head in and listen to the music, but your goals come first.

You quickly identify the exit Kazanari will likely use, the security guards surrounding a limousine makes it obvious, and find a good spot to wait for her. You eye the crowd of potential threats nervously, but you'll have to risk it and hope any of these "fans" that are really disguised agents don't recognise you. You are incredibly glad for your unassuming, plain appearance. Taking a deep breath, you slip through the crowd to the front row. And then, you wait.

It's a few hours later that she finally exits the building to the cheers of those around you. You feel a little nervous about how long you've left Hibiki alone at this point, but you'll be on your way back to her soon enough. You quickly check one last time the detector is on, you can't have it turn off and need to be left in the sun for ages to recharge now. Kazanari herself is dressed in a simple but admittedly stunning blue dress, and you keep a close eye as your superhuman senses focus on her. She's wearing a necklace, the end clearly having something attached hidden below her collar. Your heartbeat quickens, and you feel a tiny amount of power flowing out, but you aren't here for a fight. You wait.

And then, she gets within fifty metres, and the device in your pocket goes off, a tone mercifully akin to a cellphone ringing filling your ears. She walks past you, only to stop. Did she hear it? You didn't come here for a fight, but you ready yourself. But, after a few moments that feel like an eternity with your chant on your lips, she keeps moving. You wait a few moments more, until all of her guards are past you, before you pull out the detector.

**[SYMPHOGEAR DETECTED]  
[DISTANCE: 15 METRES]  
[RELIC:]  
[ABSOLUTE SWORD]  
[AME NO HABAIKIRI]**

  
Well then. There's your answer.

 _"Ame No Habaikiri, huh… the sword of Susano'o… well then, time to tell Hibiki what we're up against."_ You muse to yourself, before turning to slip away once again.

* * *

  
Later that day, after a short break to eat, Hibiki speaks up at last in response to what you told her. "So". She says. "That's how it is."

You nod. "I don’t feel good about it either. It feels like fighting her partner would be disrespectful of Kanade-san's sacrifice. And she fought to save us that day as well. But, this is our life."

"Yeah…" She mutters, sighing. "I guess we might not have a choice. If she starts a fight, we'll have to be ready for it." She looks up, that determined blaze in her eyes. "If _they_ think I'm going to sit back and let them do what they want, they've got another thing coming!"

"I know." You say simply. "And I'll be there with you. No matter what."

Hibiki doesn't answer. She just smiles at you again. And as you finally both go to get some sleep, one thought hangs in your mind.

 _"I believe it's high time I paid you back for your hospitality… F.I.S."_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's both chapters currently written. Chapter 3 is being worked on, so wait for it if you're interested. See you later.


	3. Past Battles

  
You are Tachibana Hibiki, and you're window shopping. You don’t have any money, sure, but that's why you're only _window_ shopping. Besides, with Miku off sneaking around to see if F.I.S are here, you don't have much to do right now. The food store you're wandering around is pretty nice - it's clean, and it's not all stuffy. You definitely like it.  
  
You walk to the poultry aisle and stop as a thought flies through your head. _"That turkey is the most delicious thing I have seen in like a week."_ Immediately, you check for the exit. Only about twenty metres away, it's a small store. Today’s one of your good days, so you could cover that distance in an eye blink if you really pushed it. But you don't want to risk giving away how fast you are so soon after moving here. You promised Miku you wouldn’t!  
  
A plan began formulating in your mind. It’s early and nobody here is good enough to catch you! There's one of those alarm things, but you know the streets well enough. There's an alley to the left you can duck into, and another couple leading into it, and once you turn a corner where you don't see anyone, you can just jump on the roofs and away you go! Plan made, you casually reach out to pick up the glorious, delicious _food-  
  
"WHAT AM I DOING!?"_  
  
You quickly yank your hand back, turning to leave as you start to quietly yell at yourself. _"Stupid, selfish glutton! You already HAVE food you got some just two days ago! Even if it looks so good… NO! Bad Hibiki! You can't pay for it, you don't need it, leave it!"_  
  
You turn, escaping into an alleyway, and glumly start walking. Walking is good. Walking reminds you that there isn't anyone who can stop you from just going as far as you want, to force you to stay where _they_ want. Except Miku, but that's different. You _want_ to stay with Miku. You never wanted to be where _they_ took you.  
  
You sigh to yourself. _"I thought I was doing better about food…"_ Your thoughts drift to a time before the Zwei Wing concert. Unlike Miku, you don’t have any problem remembering your old life. And one of the things you remember is that you could eat a _lot_ of food as a little kid. Even after everyone else was finished, you'd still be asking for more. It was a source of exasperation and embarrassment for your parents, but they didn’t mind. You considered your love of food to be your charm point.  
  
During your time with F.I.S., you realized how terrible a curse your eating habits were. The Professor did everything she could for you, but there were nine other Fusion Kids who had mouths to feed as well as all the other kids you know she was in charge of. And once she was gone, _they_ didn’t care. They gave you the bare minimum to survive, and if you fell out of line, even that was taken from you. You'd think the constant experiencing of hunger would get you used to the feeling, but it's actually made it _worse_. It’s been you don't know how many years since you’ve had a filling meal, and if you didn’t have Miku around, you’d have been doing nothing but eating yourself sick.  
  
You hate stealing. You never wanted to take things that weren't yours. But getting a job is a great way to be found, few people would hire a tiny kid off the street, and, most importantly, Miku comes first. She always comes first. So you promised yourself that you wouldn't do it unless you really needed to, unless you were out of food and didn't have anything to sell or trade. But you've gotten good at it all the same, and it can get so tempting some times…  
  
You finally start on the way home. At least you've gotten yourself used to the streets here. It's a good thing this wasn't your first stop after you got away. After so long being marched through straight white hallways by people with guns day in and day out, this place would've made your head hurt. As is, you've gotten used to living outdoors, city or wilderness. It's a little like keeping track of where everything is during a fight, just… calmer.  
  
As you walk along, you see a big, fancy looking building in a traditional style. It looks like… a dojo? Maybe? Yeah, you can see some training gear lying around. You idly wonder where all the students are. It isn't late in the day, after all. It isn't important, though, and you keep on walking. You turn the corner about a block down and finally get it together, and start looking around to make sure no one is following you.  
  
You were paying attention to your surroundings so much, you didn’t see where exactly you were walking and missed the broken piece of pavement. One bad step, and you’re landing face-first onto the street.  
  
*CRASH*  
  
You slowly pick yourself up, gingerly touching your nose. You aren't in any danger from something as simple as a fall - you're pretty sure you can take bullets without transforming by now - but it's the principle of the thing. Standing up, you glared at the tiny piece of broken pavement that decided to make you look like an idiot before sending it flying a few feet away with a weak kick. Your nose avenged, you let out a sigh and muttered "I'm cursed."  
  
"Are you alright, miss?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm good, just cursed." You absently reply before realizing you don't recognize that voice.  
  
Your fists tighten as you whirl to face the new threat, eyes flickering around for other combatants, and prepare to throw the first punch! Then you stop yourself. _"NO! Bad Hibiki! Don't panic, just stay calm and leave. Punching random bystanders is a big no-no!"_ You quickly open your hands, and try to loosen so you aren't obviously in a fighting stance. You don't quite manage it, but at least you don't look like you're going to attack any second now.  
  
You glance at the alleged concerned citizen, running through a basic threat assessment just like Mentor taught you.  
  
_"Adult male. Red shirt and hair, eyes are… gold? Odd, but Miku has green hair, it isn't a big deal. Heavily muscled, clothes are a dress shirt and trousers but looser than they look. Bet he can move easier in those than most would think. Fists have some calluses on them, same with a lot of other good striking areas. Martial artist? Probably, likely the owner of the dojo I saw earlier. If so, he's a good one, he's got the stance of someone confident in his strength. I can respect that. Looks worried. Because of my fall? Probably what he wants me to think. Might be true, might not. Threat? Maybe. He's good, but my body's in top form today. What to do, leave and don't act shady enough to get police or something on my tail because that would really really suck."_  
  
All of this, from you realising you didn't know the voice to you deciding what to do, took about a second.  
  
"Miss, are you alright?” the man asks. “You took a nasty fall, and you jumped pretty bad there." A tone of seemingly genuine concern was in his voice. He really does seem to just be worried, but you've been wrong about people enough in the past to not trust ‘em.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, you just surprised me there! Wasn't expecting someone to be around, eheheheh…" You laugh in what is definitely just real embarrassment and totally not faked for this guy. "Thanks for asking, but I'm fine! Not even a scratch! I'll just head on my way." You say in a completely real and definitely not forced calm and casual tone, as you turn around.  
  
"Wait a moment! Miss, are you sure you're safe out alone at this hour? I'm afraid there are some unsavoury sorts around here recently, and a girl your age walking the streets alone-" The old guy starts to warn you.  
  
"Nah, I'm good! I'm used to dealing with bunches of thugs, I'm a fast runner when I need to be! Besides, the place I'm staying isn't far away. I'll just head there quick and I'll be back before dark. See you later!" You cheerily say before turning around the corner and immediately breaking into a sprint.  
  
_"Way too close! What the heck was with that old guy, anyway…?"_  
  


* * *

  
The man stared after the strange girl once she'd left. At first, he'd thought little of the event. It had been a nasty fall, yes, and it _was_ dangerous around here these days- he hadn't quite finished asking all of those thugs to leave his neighbors alone just yet. But he hadn't thought it would be anything important unless she was hurt worse than he'd believed.  
  
Then he'd spoken up, and the kid had _moved_.  
  
Her speed alone was unnerving, normal humans usually didn't move that rapidly, especially not kids her size. His own family and Shinji's could go a lot faster if they trained properly - he was proof of that - but they were the exceptions to the rule. The hint that she had some superhuman ability was eyebrow-raising, to say the least.  
  
But that hadn't been what worried him. Not at all. It had been her first, instinctive reaction to hearing a voice. She hadn’t made a movement to run away, like most people would when seeing him that close unexpectedly. No, her first reaction to seeing him was to get ready to attack him straight away, and whilst it was only for a second, she'd looked _terrified_. Judging by her speed, she’d have been able to deliver a solid jab into his ribcage before most people could even blink. A normal bystander might not be able to survive such a blow.  
  
She'd stopped, but even then, he could tell she was halfway into a pretty solid fighting stance, one that showed him that the kid knew how to fight. Too well. And she hadn't answered until she had finished scanning the area in a way that was obviously a threat assessment. And once she did respond to him, she'd deflected every question he asked and then left almost immediately. She'd acted normal, but there was a reason he suspected that was an act.  
  
Her eyes were just like those of three other young girls he had seen.  
  
He narrowed his eyes. "I've got a bad feeling about this."  
  


* * *

  
The next day, after Miku heads off again, you spend a couple hours training to start the day off. Just a couple hundred reps of everything you can do without equipment and a few of the techniques you can use untransformed. The exercises help keep you in shape and in practice without pushing your body too much, but, more than that, it gives you something to do to take your mind off of what your sunshine told you after her search for F.I.S.  
  
_"Tsubasa-san…"_ You don't like to think much about the day that your life changed, even if you remember it better than Miku. It happened. So did everything that came after it. You can't change that unless someone invents one of those time travel thingies from Amarok's books within the next few months. Brooding about the past was a waste of time.  
  
That said, you don’t think you’ve ever stopped thinking about the girl who saved you.  
  
Amou Kanade. She told you not to give up on living. She gave everything to protect you and Miku. She risked her life against one of the biggest armies of Noise you've ever seen, right down to using her Swan Song to ensure your safety, simply because she could. And now, you might have to fight the person who fought alongside her.  
  
You don't like this. You know first hand how much losing someone who fought by your side hurts. How much losing your _friends_ hurts. And now you're repaying Kanade's sacrifice by using her Relic against her friend. Even worse, Tsubasa probably thinks you’re an insane traitor, that Kanade died just to allow someone like you to exist. You _really_ don't like this.  
  
But she's F.I.S, and an enemy for both you and Miku. You aren't under any illusions that Tsubasa wouldn't hand you over to her masters with a smile on her face if she had a chance.  
  
So if she tries to hurt Miku or you, she gets punched. It's worked so far.  
  
Exercise and some basic shadow boxing finished, your body rewards you with a tired but satisfying feeling, making you smile. Miku always told you to take it easy, but she didn’t know what this was like. Besides, you know your limits! You're not some dumb kid!  
  
Immediately, the feared boredom sets in. You hate having nothing to do. You especially hate not having anything to do when you're inside, in a small space, and alone.  
  
You shuddered. One of _their_ favorite punishments, besides not letting you eat, was to lock you up in a tiny, black room, completely alone, for so long you sometimes wondered if you’d ever be allowed to come out…  
  
You can't stay here.  
  
You quickly hang up a small, red piece of cloth that'll let Miku know you were out, and walked back into Tokyo’s city streets. You can at least get used to the streets here while you're wandering around. It'll come in handy if you ever get into another running fight like you did back in the first town you reached after you escaped. For all your strength, you aren't impossible to beat like some people apparently think you are. Every advantage in a fight you can get is one you'll take. Numbers will never be on your side.  
  
You wander through the streets, keeping an eye out for anything interesting or useful. And, of course, for _them_. You never were as good at being sneaky as Miku, but you've learned a bit since your escape. Recently, you’ve been zoning out and thinking about stuff a lot. You need to get yourself together. If Teruo was an FIS agent in disguise, which is a thing that has happened to you, then you would've led them straight to Miku.  
  
You don't really find anything useful. Still, at least you start to learn how to get around better. No such thing as good enough. Not when it comes to your sunshine.  
  
So proud of your memorization skills are you, you don’t realise you’ve just screwed up until you turn the corner and walk right into trouble.  
  
"Well, well, well,” the snake-like goon began, “would ya lookie here. A little girl wandering alone these parts at this hour? What a shock!" His fellows chuckled like they heard a funny joke.  
  
Okay wow. You thought the thugs from the last town were miserable excuses for human beings. But these guys? Your skin is officially crawling from the looks they're giving you. You try to walk past them before a different goon with dreadlocks takes a step towards you and asks "Now miss, what could you be doing here?"  
  
"Eh, just passing through." You casually respond. Even if these guys are clearly not just a gang of would be street fighters like those goons, you've fought far worse than a bunch of criminals. "Mind letting me by? Because I've kinda got somewhere to be, and I really don't wanna be late."  
  
The biggest of the crooks, probably the boss of this wannabe street gang, widens his eyes in faked astonishment. This guy is _not_ as good an actor as he clearly thinks he is. Cadejo would be exploding at how bad he is at it. Kinda like you when people think they're good at fighting but actually suck. "Oh my! Sorry, sweetie, but I'm afraid I can't let you just wander off. Don't worry, just a small fee and you'll be on your way."  
  
Well, he's at least trying to be more than a regular mugger. Most of them would probably be trying to attack you by now. "Sorry, I'm kinda broke right now. I don't want any trouble, so I'll just head off now."  
  
The head jerk shakes his head sadly, walking towards you and yup, way too close thank you. "Dear oh dear, I'm afraid I can't do that. Still though, even if you don't have any money, there are other ways you could pay. Like, say…" The creep's gaze lands on your neck. "That beautiful ribbon of yours. I'm sure that would fetch a fine price, don't you think?"  
  
You stiffen as some _very unwelcome_ memories decide to crash your headspace, your hand reaching to the ribbon around your neck. You hate that thing. You hate it so, so much. "Yeah, sorry, no deal." You say flatly. Even if it can't do anything to most people, there's no way you'd give that thing to scum like this.  
  
Not that you could take it off to begin with.  
  
"Oh, sweetie, I think you misunderstood me!" The personal space-breacher said cutely- before grabbing you and slamming you against the wall. _"I wasn't asking."_  
  
…  
  
"Yup, kicking your ass." You say flatly.  
  
"'Kicking my ass'? Kid, I'm afraid you don't understand the situation you're in at the moment-" The thug says, but he doesn't finish the sentence.  
  
The punch you drive into the guy's lungs isn't one of the ones that earned the myth of you being undefeatable. It's nothing compared to the strikes that smash apart Relic-based barriers, turn whole hills to dust and make some FIS members run at the mere sight of you. It isn't even one of the blows that can pulverise concrete and brick and make you someone not to take lightly whether you transform or not. It is, however, more than enough to drive every speck of air from his lungs in an instant.  
  
The guy collapses, a small, strangled squeak escaping him as you step to the side. The other personal space breaches stare in stunned silence. You glare at them as you internally hope they'll get the point. You don't want to fight here. Miku is already annoyed at you over that. For a single instant, the goons hesitate.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS WAITING FOR!? SHE'S A LITTLE KID, GET IN THERE AND TEACH HER SOME RESPECT!" And of course your hopes are dashed. You sigh, crack your knuckles, and prepare for another battle. These guys are serious. You can see a few knives already. Definitely not just fight junkies like the guys from a few days ago. Still though, you shouldn't need to give away how strong you are, since no one else is in danger. Best to just beat them and then run for it.  
  
First up is one with a knife. He clearly has no idea how to use it, and you know nothing about knife fighting unless the knife is attached to your arm. He's just swinging at you with a grip so clumsy he's likely to knock it out of his hand. You barely need to dodge at all, leaning a bit to the side before grabbing his wrist. The goon yelps in pain, dropping the knife on reflex. Good. You quickly let go of his hand, then kick his legs to knock him over.  
  
Next up, three guys with… brass knuckles? Aren't those hard to get your hands on? Well, they have them. Not that having something to help them hit harder will help them actually, well, hit you. You dance around their strikes, then hit back. Just like fighting a Relic Beast, except you're holding back instead of hitting them with everything you've got. A punch to the gut, another to the chest, and you whirl as you slam a backhand into the last one's side.  
  
You decide to not wait for the next one. You aren't the type to just sit back and let an enemy come to you. That was more Anubis's style. Instead, you charge headlong into the next group, to their surprise. You duck under a knife swing, then throw an uppercut to knock the user of said knife out. A side kick handles the guy that tries to get around you, and a few jabs send the last two on a trip to meet the floor.  
  
You're in the thick of them now. Good. That's where you like to be. You hop back from a stab, punching the elbow of the one holding it as you do. Then you punch him in the side before quickly ducking left to avoid a cross aimed at your head, kicking out as you do to take out the puncher. Hearing footsteps behind you, you whirl around to face one of the other brass knuckle users and drive your clenched fist into his chest-  
  
*CRACK*  
  
The guy goes down, but you aren't paying much attention, as you stare at the dent you've left in his chest. You can't see him breathing. You killed him. You just killed someone he's dead it's your fault _not again-  
  
But you have no time to think about that, since her spear’s aimed at your chest! You jump backwards and let the tip sail just an inch over your head as you fly further than any normal human could go in a whole minute so fast blinking would miss you, catching yourself on your hands and flip upright while whipping your fist to the right, the huge axe bouncing off your gauntlet. You jump back, taking a few, valuable seconds to breath.  
  
You can't quite remember how long this fight has been going, now. Was it really just last night you and your sunshine finally fulfilled your friends’ dreams? Just last night you finally escaped that place? You feel like it must've been a little longer than that. You just remember you and Miku running as fast as you could. You kick yourself again for not noticing the cliff that your pursuers had cornered you on until you were at the edge, with five Harmonics and a ton of agents right behind you. You ignore the instinct to check on Miku. You can't afford to lose your focus right now.  
  
You take a few deep breaths, centering yourself past the burning pain in your chest, focusing on the - by now almost comforting - weight of your armour. Your scarves swing in the breeze as you eye your opponents.  
  
They’ve sent three Harmonics to fight you. A spear girl whose white hair was in a ponytail, a blonde girl spinning two weird ring-shaped blades you don't know the name of around her hand, and a blue-green-haired girl with a two mode Armed Gear who keeps switching between small hand axes and a double-bladed monster thing you're pretty sure is as big as you are.  
  
There had been two more, but you didn't get a good look at them or their weapons before things kicked off and Miku started fighting them. Judging from the chaos you can hear, mostly the energy blasts, she's doing alright.  
  
The one with the spinny bladey thing keeps throwing stuff at you, but she's clearly more of a mid range fighter who's playing the distance too much - her weapons are slow enough dodging is as easy as just moving all the time. You thank your crazy luck that the base you'd been imprisoned in didn't have a proper long range specialist.  
  
While Spear girl is surprisingly strong, you can tell she’s pretty inexperienced when it comes to using her weapon or just fighting in general. Even with F.I.S's general inability to understand how a fight works, sending a rookie like her out to fight_ you _is just dumb. The one with the axe is dangerous. You’ll need to take her out first before she takes you out with a lucky hit. She seems to prefer the larger axe, only using her small ones to fight at range, and she doesn't seem to be used to trying to hit someone as good at dodging as you. That'll be how to beat her.  
  
You can't lose here. Not after everything you and your sunshine lost, not after how many of your friends didn't make it this far. That thought in mind, you move.  
  
You charge forward, eyes on bluey green hair. Spinny bladey girl hurls one of her weapons at you, her Armed Gear multiplying itself until there’s a storm of sharp blades in your path. You weave through the wall of edges, jumping left, right, and up as you head through without slowing down. The girl's eyes widen, and she leaps backwards to get some distance from you.  
  
The front of your left gauntlet splits open, pulling back as a small blade pops out. You whirl, catching the sword on your katar, then knock it to the side as the second one pops out. You quickly swing twice, slicing into her undersuit and making her stagger backwards, allowing you to continue your advance. Axe girl has figured out you're going for her now. She hops back, summoning her smaller axes and hurling them at you constantly. You dip left to avoid the first few, only for the whirling axes to curve around and strike you in the back. You feel a burst of pain, but it's nothing compared to the pain in your heart. You catch yourself, the Power Jacks on your legs shifting into position as you launch upwards, aim at the spinny blade girl and _kick _._  
  


_**[FLYING TIGER]** _

  
_A shockwave roars out, less one of the cones of sheer force your strikes often make and more like a cannon shot that flies further than you could ever reach normally. The spinny girl tries to dodge, leaping upwards, but the blast just barely catches her, sending her flying with a yelp you only vaguely hear as you land in front of Spear girl. Spear girl looks at you agape for a moment, as if she couldn’t believe what you’d just done. A rookie mistake. To her credit, she recovers quickly enough to try and stab you, but you catch the attack by slamming your katar into the spear’s tip. Getting into a straight power match with you? After what you’ve shown her? What was she_ thinking?  
  
_The centre of her split spear tip glows, and you barely duck in time as an explosive blast sends your arm flying back and leaves you wide open. Spear girl grins, her spear raising over her head as she thrusts right for your pendant._  
  
You catch the shaft with your hands.  
  
Once again, Spear girl's eyes widen in shock, but you don't sit back and wait for her this time. Instead, you _pull back and heave. "SEEYAAAH!" You swing the spear and its hapless wielder around you once, twice, and halfway through a third before the unlucky Harmonic finally loses her grip and flies away.  
  
Spear girl neutralized for now, you turn to axe girl, who has apparently decided she's done sitting back. Her giant axe swings downward toward you, a clear attempt to take you out in one hit. You sidestep to the left, your katar stabbing into her arm as her weapon embeds itself in the ground. It doesn't really hurt her thanks to the defensive barrier, but it does get her to drop the axe.  
  
Axe girl leans back under your first stab, two of her smaller axes popping out from her shoulder armour and into her hands as she swings away, one of her strikes landing on your shoulder. You grit your teeth and thrust your blade into her side.. This time, it isn't just a glancing strike. She staggers back, clutching the wound and giving you time to check your own injury. Good, just a small cut. Not deep enough to do much more than hurt a little. You then take the opportunity while the Axe girl is distracted by her injuries to cause the blade on your right arm to retract back into your normal gauntlet. Time to be a little tricksy. You charge as your gauntlet pulls back to your elbow.  
  
Seeing your incoming attack, her immediate reaction is to use her giant axe to block you as you predicted. Big mistake. Everyone who has ever fought you knew how hard your punches were and that evading would get better results than trying to block. But given how she’s a heavy weapon user, you figured she’d be used to blocking. Giving you the opportunity to do this-!  
  
"TEEEERYAAAAAAAAHHHH!"  
  
And the Pilebunkers fire._  
  


_**[SPEAR THRUSTING STRIKE]** _

  
_Your punch shatters her weapon and cracks her armour without even making contact, sending her flying. She crashes into a boulder the size of a tank. You and your armour take a moment to cool down, a burst of steam filling the air, before turning around and staring at your remaining opponents.  
  
There’s a look of fear on their faces. Spear girl in particular looks like she’s about to cry. You hate it, but you reassure yourself that it wasn’t your fault. They should know who you were by now, and the fact that they didn’t meant that their superiors had left some gaps in their mission briefing. Typical F.I.S.  
  
A pang of sympathy for these girls enters your heart. You knew exactly what they were going through. Maybe you could reach them? You decide to take a risk.  
  
"You don't have to fight me." you say. Spear girl jumps a little bit in surprise, as you idly realise that this would be the first time she heard you outside of you yelling. You weren't the one singing. You think that was the axe girl. "We don't have to do this. No matter what, you and your team can't beat me as you are now. Last time I was tested, I came out the most powerful Harmonic alive. But if you give up, I promise I won’t hurt you any more. I promise, I just want to be left alone." You don't really know why you open your fists. You just kinda do it without really thinking. "I… don't want to hurt people. So please. Just let us leave."  
  
The girls hesitate, stealing glances between each other and the axe girl you can hear struggling to get up behind you_. "Come on, come on." _You think_. "Just accept defeat and leave. There’s no need for any more pain. Be smart so you don’t get hurt. Come on…"  
  
_The girls hesitate a second longer before lowering their weapons. A spark of hope lights up inside you. You might not have to hurt her and her friends more than they already are!  
  
And then the night air is broken by a scream. You peer over the girls to see your sunshine stumbling on the ground_, _untransformed. You see the injector drop from the hand of one of the agents. “Anti-LiNKER," You realise with dread. Your blood turns to ice, and your heart pounds in your chest. You desperately charge forward, screaming her name. You have to save Miku. She’s the only person you have left!  
  
The agents, all of them, level their weapons straight at her, ready to fire. Ready to kill  
  
Everything stops.  
  
***BA-DUM***  
  
The agents start shouting something at you, but you don't hear them.  
  
***BA-DUM***  
  
Axe girl pulls herself from the rubble, summoning her bigger axe again, and starts shouting too, but you don't see her._  
  
**_*BA-DUM*_**  
  
_All you see are the machine guns being pointed at the tiny, green-haired girl who's all you have._  
  
**_*BA-DUM*_**  
  
_"Get away from her…" you mutter to yourself as your teeth change and your heart burns and everything starts to fade away  
  
***BA-DUM BA-DUM BA-DUM BA-DUM BA-DUM BA-DUM BA-DUM-***  
  
**"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HEEEEEEAAAEAGHHHAUOUO!!!!"**  
  
And the world turns dark.  
  
*bzzzt*  
  
"-stop please God-"  
  
*bzzzt*  
  
"-away from me! Help! Somebo-"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"-please! You said you didn't-"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"-ie you bi- AGGGGHH!"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"-op! This isn't yo-"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"-know you wouldn't want this-"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"-come back to me, please-"  
  
*bzzzt….*  
  
"STOP, HIBIKIIIIIIIIIII!"  
  
Once again, the darkness is illuminated by sunshine.  
  
You gasp, shocked out of your rage, your sunshine banishing anger and agony back to the dark recesses of your mind like always.  
  
(Except she was too late that time, wasn't she?)  
  
"Miku…?" You ask blearily, exhaustion and pain blurring your vision. Your sunshine doesn't answer, sitting on the edge of the cliff untransformed just feet away. Wait… isn't that too close? You turn your misty vision to your right arm and see your gauntlet pulled back to your shoulder. Your eyes widen, your vision clearing as it finally hits you that you just nearly- nearly- Miku-!  
  
And then you see the red splattered over it. The red covers your arm, and your other arm, and your legs too. You want to deny it, but you know it can only be blood. There’s so, so much of it.  
  
Slowly, almost uncomprehending, you turn around. Miku looks up, realises what you're doing and opens her mouth to tell you to stop, to tell you not to look.  
  
You looked and saw _one of the thugs, one of the few who aren't already on the ground, pull out a gun and aim it at you. If it had happened a few minutes earlier, you'd be trying to figure out how the heck a random thing on the street got a pistol in Japan of all places. Instead, you're still staring at nothing, distantly wondering whether this or that cliff is real.  
  
Two things happen at once.  
  
The first is that the crook pulls the trigger.  
  
The second is that a red haired man wearing a red shirt with a pink tie stomps his foot down hard enough to shatter the ground, and _shouts_.  
  
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"  
  
The ground lifts up in front of him as his fist strikes the air, a barrier of tarmac and concrete rising up and stopping the thug's bullet dead. The absurd sight breaks you out of your memories. Had he… created a concrete barrier using pure martial arts? _How!?_  
  
The leader of the goons, having finally gotten up again, is the first to react. "OH GOD, IT'S THAT MONSTER AGAIN! CHEESE IT!"  
  
At his shout of panic, the other goons - the ones still conscious anyway - finally start running. Fast. As the crooks flee for their lives, the same man from yesterday turns around and looks at you. "Are you okay Miss?” He asks in a concerned tone. “That was a close call there, are you hur-?"  
  
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" You blurt out, staring at the golden eyed man who just _smashed your entire understanding of what martial arts can do like it was nothing._  
  
He blinks, looking… surprised? Why!? "I used a martial arts technique to crack the ground and force it upwards." he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Well yeah that part was obvious - heck I can actually do something a little like that myself - but all I can manage is to make a big crack that carries the force of my punch with it! _You_ made a giant barrier pop out of the ground! And it _stayed up!_ It should've fallen over on itself the second the force from that punch wasn't holding it, but it's _still there!_ How did you do something like that!?" You babble, not noticing or caring that you just gave away you know something like Earth Drill or that you're talking so fast he probably can't understand a word you're saying.  
  
"I'm afraid it's rather advanced… I worked it out on my own, and I've never tried teaching it." He answers. "Are you sure you're all right? Those crooks are dangerous, and whilst you can clearly take care of yourself judging from the thug you downed, adrenaline can make it so you don't notice an injury until long after the battle."  
  
"The thug I downed…?" You mutter to yourself - and then you _remember_. The thug you knocked down, the thug who still hasn't moved. You rush to his side and kneel down next to his body. To your relief, he breaths in, though barely. You feel like a great weight just lifted off your shoulders. You stand up, holding your knees, and breathe in and out. You… you nearly… that was too close. Way too close.  
  
"Miss? Miss, are you okay!?" The man's voice snaps you out of it. You blink, and promptly realise you just started bending over and breathing so fast you must've looked like you were having a panic attack the way Barghest did towards the end.  
  
"AH! N-no, I'm alright! It's fine, everything's fine!" You quickly stand up waving your arms around as you rapidly speak. "I just got hit by the exhaustion and I was a bit out of breath that's all!" And now it just hit you you're _talking to a complete stranger who might work for F.I.S. what are you doing leaveleaveleave-!_ "Anyway, thanks for the save there! I should probably head home, huh? Best not to still be on the streets when those guys and their friends show up!"  
  
"Wait! Miss, are you certain you're okay? Can I at least get your name young lady!?" The old guy calls after you, an arm outstretched as you start heading home.  
  
"Call me Fen! Bye, see you later cool old guy!"  
  
_"MUST LEAVE!"_ You scream to yourself as you do not run, thank you you just walk very fast. You think you hear the man shout after you, but nope, had enough interacting with people-you-don't-know-who-might-be-out-to-get-you for today, thank you very much!  
  


* * *

  
The man stood there for a while longer, gazing after the mysterious girl he'd met twice now. The first encounter had been worrying. A child that young should not be panicking like that at meeting random strangers, even someone as big as him. And they certainly shouldn’t react with violence like she was going to either. He had begun to fear he had stumbled upon an abuse victim, somebody who had been pushed into martial arts like his bastard of an old man had pushed his niece into becoming a sword, only somehow _worse_.  
  
This second meeting had been far more than simply _worrying_.  
  
He’d made the rounds in these parts before. There were a gang of thugs that insisted on making this territory their own, much to the chagrin of the locals. Since it was in his backyard, so to speak, he had taken it upon himself to deal with them in his off-time.  
  
That was how he came across that girl beating up a bunch of armed and dangerous criminals.  
  
She’d taken out the lead crook with a single punch. And she'd done just the same to the others, practically exploding into a rapid, hard-striking blur that most people wouldn't be able to properly see, leaving battered men far larger than her all over the floor with an ease that suggested she hadn't even been _trying_. A kid with that much fighting prowess was concerning enough, given what you had to go through to get that kind of experience, but then, in the middle of the fight, she simply _stopped_.  
  
He was going to question her on her circumstance, but she immediately badgered him about his technique, claiming to know something similar (which was _also_ concerning). Then she realised who she was talking to, panicked _again_ , and left as quickly as possible.  
  
She could say she’s fine all she wanted. He knew what post-traumatic stress looked like when he saw it.  
  
The man went over what he knew about this girl, and tried to imagine what kind of situation would result in a teenage kid with this level of combat ability and obvious PTSD symptoms living on the street and panicking at the presence of other people. He did not like the answers he came up with.  
  
Commander Kazanari Genjuro of the Special Disaster Relief Organisation’s Second Division clenched his fists. _"Fen, huh? I'll have to ask around about her. That girl needs help, and if no one else is going to do anything I'll handle it myself."_  
  


* * *

  
You don't fall asleep at first that night. You're too busy thinking about stuff you don't want to think about. Slowly, trying not to wake up your sunshine because of your problems, you lift a hand and just… stare at it for a little.  
  
Your Katars were the first thing you got when you started trying to get past the wall you hit trying to use Gungnir's Armed Gear. You got inspired watching Mentor fight, by the smaller blade she used when the bigger one broke off.  
  
Since your gauntlets are where that stupid spear is supposed to come from, you tried to just get those smaller blades to pop out without making them come off your arms. It worked pretty well, in spite of what Bask said. They used to be the main way you fought, since it was so useful having something to block with that wasn't your arms and because it was easier to cut and stab Noise than to punch through when you were weaker.  
  
You haven't used them in a long time, now.  
  
You breathe in and out, calmly, slowly. You can't cry right now. You can't wake Miku up and make her worry about you even more. You _can't_.  
  
_"Why…? Why can't I just forget about that day? Why do I always have to remember it again and again!?"_  
  
You always hated going berserk like that. You hated the way the world went dark around you, the way you couldn't feel anything anymore except anger and pain. And you _hated_ the way you hurt anybody who was unlucky enough to cross your path.  
  
But always, always, it hadn't gone as bad as it could. Always, your sunshine would reach out to you through it all. Always, your Mentor would fight harder than ever, even as she yelled at you to stop being foolish and calm down. Always, Bask would shrug off everything you could dish out while she and the others tried to land that one big hit to force you back to normal.  
  
Always, your friends were there for you. There to make sure nothing bad would happen, that the worst that you would be afraid of would be that they might get hurt a little bit.  
  
Except for the one day that only one friend was left, and she couldn't stop you.  
  
And you finally had to face up to what you were.  
  
You can't stop the tears. You really are a total failure.  
  
The sound of her shifting around confirms it. "Hibiki…? Is something wrong?"  
  
You turn around to look at her worried face. The face you see all the time when something bad happens, or you start remembering and can't figure out what's happening now and what was happening then anymore. You don't deserve someone that cares about you this much.  
  
You try to smile. "Y-yeah. I'm alright Miku. I was just…"  
  
"Hibiki." A firm, familiar voice interrupts you. "Stop lying. You're crying, in the middle of the night, and I _know_ you haven't been asleep." She sits up, pushing you up as she goes, and gives you a _look._ "Now, what is wrong?"  
  
You feel a bead of sweat roll down your forehead. _"S-she saw right through me again."_ You thought nervously. You open your mouth, realise she isn't going to take no for an answer this time, and look away. You really don't want to tell her. You don't want to make her worry about you even more. But she'll worry if you try and insist nothing's wrong too…  
  
You take a deep breath, and bite the bullet. "I… I was thinking about _that_ fight again."  
  
Suddenly, you're being hugged. You let her. "It's not your fault. It has _never_ been your fault." She whispers it so quietly. You wish you could make yourself believe her.  
  
"I know." You mutter back. "But… it's stuck in my head sometimes, and I just…"  
  
"Hibiki. Look at me." You do, and just stare at the bright green eyes that were there for you through everything. "I know you hate what that power does. I do as well, because there is _nothing_ I hate more than how it hurts you. But it is not your fault. It's theirs. F.I.S. were the ones who kept trying to force it so they could use it for God knows what, and the consequences are on them. No matter what it feels like for you."  
  
You just sit back and let her talk. Her voice is the one thing that's always been able to get through to you, always been able to help you through anything. She's your sunshine. Always and forever.  
  
She breathes in, then speaks again. "Do you think you're okay now?"  
  
You open your mouth, remember she'll be mad if she thinks you're lying, and take a moment to think about it. Then you answer. "I… don't think I'm _okay._ " You admit, instantly hating the way her face falls. "I don't think I'll ever just… forget what happened that night. But I think, for now anyway… yeah. I'm fine. I just kinda need some sleep, I think." You smile. It's steadier, this time.  
  
She narrows her eyes. "Make sure you're not lying to me this time."  
  
You laugh a little. "I will. It's a promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this got... darker than I intended.
> 
> Okay so the flashback scene was planned but I didn't mean for things to get that dark in the middle there. My b. So yeah Hibiki is a complete mess. Welcome to In A Flash, where being Harmonic is suffering. Don't worry- this is meant to be a story of things getting better for these two, and others, and I'm sticking to that. As a matter of fact this chapter features one of the most crucial parts of things getting better for them- somebody both able and willing to help getting involved. Don't worry- this won't be the last time Commander Badass casually breaks everything Hibiki knew you could do with martial arts without even noticing. He hasn't even neutralised explosions with his fists yet after all.
> 
> See you all later!


	4. Point Insertion

You are Kohinata Miku, and you are hiding. This isn't exactly _unusual_ for you, you spend most of your time hiding in some form or another, but you're putting more effort into it than you normally need to. Standing outside the studio of a talk show normally isn't dangerous, but it is when an FIS Harmonic is currently making a guest appearance. There's no way to tell how much of the small crowd is actually agents that could recognise you, let alone Kazanari herself.  
  
Fortunately, you have much more experience at games of intrigue than any normal Harmonic or agent. Not to mention certain unique advantages. Still, you can never be careful enough. With the forces against you and your sun, secrecy is your best defence.  
  
And so, you wait at the top of a building, in between a few metal boxes you think have something to do with air conditioning, one eye on the studio and the other keeping watch for anyone else looking your way. Luckily, you learned long ago that the vast majority of people tend to forget to look up.  
  
You wait. You were always the best at that, amongst the ten of you. Baskerville and Cwn Anwwn rivalled _Hibiki_ with their impulsiveness, and the others all had their own quirks that made just waiting for something to happen a problem, but you've always been able to simply relax and wait for your moment. The others always pointed to that when your weakness made you feel useless again. They always said that without you to stop those three rushing in without a thought and keep everyone else from giving the game away, you all never would have gotten as far as you did.  
  
You wish they were here. You have for a while, but with Kazanari, Hibiki's current state, and the base you're planning on finding, more than ever recently.  
  
Finally, you see what you've been waiting for. Kazanari walks out of the studio, wearing a different dress this time. One that lets you see the necklace she's wearing. You can't stop yourself from tensing. You'll have to be cautious. The last thing you need is to get yourself into a fight. After how you've been about such things recently, Hibiki would _never_ let you hear the end of it if you got into a brawl now.  
  
You smile when you see Kazanari and her bodyguards get into a car. In Tokyo's traffic, that isn't the smartest idea. You quickly hop down from your vantage point, jumping down between footholds to get to the alley, then dart into the street. Good, you haven't lost track of your target. Now to make sure that stays the case until you find out what you want to know.  
  
You follow after the… you think it's called a limousine slowly, trailing after it at a calm pace like any other teenage girl out for a stroll. Add your messy appearance from the last several months, and you're almost invisible without having to use your ability whatsoever. You hang back enough that you can only just keep track of your target with your enhanced senses anyway. By this point, everyone in FIS knows you and your sun, mostly because of Hibiki's utterly _absurd_ capabilities and inability to be covert. You can't let yourself be recognised under any circumstances.  
  
Kazanari changes cars at one point. This time, only one person accompanies her. A plain looking man in a suit. You have no idea who he is, but you presume the answer contains the words "member of FIS". It always does. A few blocks later, in a street empty of other people, the two get out of the car. This time, no other awaits them. You smile again. It isn't a nice one, but you aren't _being_ nice at the moment. You quietly walk after them, confident that they won't notice you at this distance-  
  
The suited man looks behind him, frowning. Kazanari does as well, an instant later. He sees nothing. Just empty urban scenery. He narrows his eyes for a split second, but turns around and keeps walking. His companion, a moment later, does likewise.  
  
As they turn a corner, a shimmering wave in the air forms for an instant, then fades in a glow, leaving you standing in the middle of the street, panting. Activating that without your transformation is exhausting, but this isn't the first time it's saved your life, or that of your friends. You breath out one last time, then keep going. _"Thank you… Shenshoujing."_  
  
You keep a bit further back after that, staying as far away as you can without risking losing them. You can't be seen. Not even from a distance. If you're seen, you'll be recognised. If you're recognised, every FIS Harmonic in Japan will converge on Tokyo and every string the higher ups can find will be pulled to find you. And if they find you, Hibiki will fight. It's who she is. No matter how much danger it puts her in, if she thinks you might get hurt by _them_ , she'll fight until she can fight no more. You can't let that happen. You won't let her hurt herself, damage her body even further and lose even more of what time she has left, protecting you. Not after how much keeping you safe has already cost her. _"Never again."_  
  
You breathe in deeply. You can't let yourself lose focus. Not right now. There will be time to worry later. Regardless, you cannot take any chances. _"I'll just use Shenshoujing's ability more."_ You resolve. _"It may be exhausting, but some tiredness is nothing if it keeps her safe."_ You keep going. You get a little closer now, vanishing from sight any time you cross their field of view for more than an instant. The exhaustion sets in rapidly. You push it aside.  
  
Then, the two you're tracking exit out onto a street. You wait for a minute, then quickly dart out to the exit, peering out to see… a school? You blink, staring at the large and imposing building. You check the sign. _"Lydian Private Music Academy… why does that name sound familiar?_ " You spend an instant searching through your frustratingly blurred memories, then shove the nagging feeling aside. It isn't important, and you can just ask Hibiki later. She'll remember. She's always been the one who remembers. Not that you care much that the memories of your old life are so faded- it's not like anything from those days except your ragged, threadbare hairband and Hibiki is still around.  
  
That's what you try to tell yourself, anyways.  
  
Nevertheless, the street is wide, open and full of people, yet Kazanari and her companion's destination is clearly this Lydian. You take a breath and prepare yourself as the familiar image of a silvery crystal fills your mind. _"This may hurt… but I'd rather I feel a little pain than my sun."_  
  
In an instant, a kaleidoscope of light shimmers over you, only to vanish. You disappear with it, not even the sound of your breathing remaining. Or at least, any observer except Hibiki would think you had. In truth, you're exactly where you were, just… not to the eye. If you were transformed, it'd be to any technological scanner or supernatural sense you've ever encountered as well, but in this form not being seen by prying eyes or heard by unwelcome ears is as good as you can get. _"If there's one thing about how little_ they _cared about us I'm glad for, it's that they never once figured out I could do this."_ you muse to yourself as you run after Kazanari, then slow down to walk merely a metre behind her.  
  
The exhaustion from trying to do this without your Symphogear gets worse as you walk, before turning into a low ache in your chest, but compared to what your shining sun feels simply from living, this is nothing at all. As Kazanari walks through the gate, you move to join her, wondering if she fakes attending here to deflect suspicions about where she _actually_ spends her days-  
  
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP!*  
  
You halt, your heart skipping a beat or ten as the Relic detector goes completely insane, the high tone ringing out just a half metre from the gate. You almost panic, a familiar chant rising to your lips as you ready yourself for the inevitable battle once Kazanari gets a good look-  
  
And then remember you still have Wizard Stealth up, and _immediately_ switch to making sure it _does not fail_. You check the detector, turning off the alert, and take just a few seconds to try and figure out what you've found. Then your focus almost slips, and you dash away to the alley before letting your ability end.  
  
You lean against the wall, taking a few moments to breath. Then you check the detector again. Kazanari and her Symphogear. An incredible amount of heretical technology. And there, buried under the other signatures so deeply it almost isn't there… the telltale signal of a Complete Relic.  
  
You've found your base.  
  
Immediately, you start planning. The base is under the school, but that isn't much help. You need to find the way inside. But where? The school is enormous from the main building alone- searching the entire campus would take forever, and if you take too long you'll be discovered for sure. You can't just use Wizard Stealth either- transforming that long _and_ keeping it active all the time would be draining enough you wouldn't be able to fly, let alone fight! You need another option…  
  
And then it hits you. _"Of course. The one group of people my age nobody would ask too many questions about- the students. But how do I make such an act convincing enough to avoid questions… Lydian is a boarding school, but students aren't required to use them as long as they arrive on time… how do I know that? Unimportant… I can just claim to be an off-campus student and no one will be too suspicious, as long as I'm vague about precisely which classes I attend… but how do I fool the teachers?"_  
  
You spend a minute wracking your mind as you try to figure out a strategy, then settle on a plan. _"But first… I'm going to need a uniform. Good thing the dorms are so close."_  
  


* * *

  
When Aki Yumeji woke the next day in her new dormitory for the first time days before starting her first year at Lydian Academy, she was caught off guard to find that her closet had been rifled through whilst she was asleep. After the initial panic, however, it was found that the only item missing was one of her uniforms, with the only hint as to the identity of the thief being a nearly illegible note promising the uniform would eventually be returned.  
  


* * *

  
You walk in the front gate of the Academy, tugging in annoyance at the collar of your new uniform. It's really a little too big more than anything, but you aren't used to wearing clothes like this anymore! All you ever wore at those places were the same thin, white hospital clothes that almost every Harmonic did, and since then, you've always preferred more casual clothes you can actually run or if necessary fight in. A school uniform… is neither of those things. Still, it shouldn't slow you down too much if things go wrong.  
  
You turn corners, walking down hallways and peering into rooms, the same thing any prospective student of such a place would do. Memorizing the position and field of view of every camera in the building as you do is less so, but it would take someone who knew what to look for to realise that's what you're up to. All you need to do after that is comb through each room and hallway you can find, until you learn which one has an entrance to the FIS base.  
  
Satisfied you've learned everything you need for this room, you turn to leave for the next hallway-  
  
"Hello there!"  
  
 _"AHHHHHHHH!"_  
  
You nearly jump out of your skin when you see the other girl standing _right behind you_. The two standing behind _her_ don't help! You don't see any necklaces, but that just means they aren't here for a fight. You have to leave immediately. The smaller girl is still talking.  
  
"Are you another first year student? I haven't seen you around before. What's your name? Mine's Itaba Yumi!"  
  
"I'm Terashima Shiori. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"Kuriyo Andou. Good morning."  
  
 _"Oh, good, conversation, I can leave those. Just say you have something to do and walk away, that's all, don't panic there's no need to- even if they are probably working for them- calm down and leave!"_ Your mind races.  
  
"Cer." You say flatly. "I'm an off campus student. I'm afraid I'm already occupied and have no time to talk. My apologies, Itaba-San." You push past her and walk as fast as you can without looking like something's wrong for the corner, then keep going for a few seconds to make sure they haven't followed you before you let yourself relax. "That was far too close… they seemed to just be normal students given they didn't recognise me, but anyone could be an informant. I'll have to be more careful in the future."  
  


* * *

  
The three friends stared after the other girl for a second, with the tallest among them the first to speak. "Well… She's a bit of a jerk."  
  
"Kuriyo-san, you shouldn't speak about strangers like that!" The blonde girl admonished, before blinking. "Although… that Cer girl admittedly was very rude, despite how she was speaking."  
  
The girl with pigtails, however, was following a very different line of thought. _"She was really dirty looking, her uniform actually looked way cleaner than the rest of her, her eyes kept shifting around, she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard me, she seemed really desperate to stop talking…"_ The brunette began to vibrate with excitement, something her friends quickly noticed.  
  
"What's up, Yumi?" Kuriyo asked curiously. _"I need to think up a good nickname for her…"_  
  
"Don't you see!?" The small girl excitedly whispered. "She's like one of those super suspicious students from an anime! We have to learn her secret!"  
  
Her two friends gave each other an exasperated look. It seemed their otaku friend had found a new pet project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Anyone still remember this exists?
> 
> Yeah, I'm sorry guys I don't even know what happened here. Two months, and I've only got two and a half k words. At this point, I just wanted to give you guys the chapter even if I'd prefer it to be longer. Good news is, with the aid of Nuker and several fellow writers from the Symphogear discord, it's complete! I'll be writing Chapter 5 soon, once I get the inspiration to get my ass in gear. Get ready, because next chapter, being Bikki is suffering.
> 
> See ya!


End file.
